A  W  £1  son  i 


THE 


^Publications  of  tfje  prince  £?>ocietj> 

Eftablifhed  May  25th,  1858 


COLONIAL  CURRENCY 

REPRINTS 


Boston 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  SOCIETY 
By  John  Wilson  and  Son 
1910 


% 


TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  COPIES 


COLONIAL  CURRENCY 

REPRINTS 


1682-175  I 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 


BY 


Andrew  mcfarland  davis,  a.m. 


VOL.  1 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


Boston 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  PRINCE  SOCIETY 

1910 


" 


Copyright ,  iqio 

By  The  Prince  Society 


T  is  the  purpose  of  the  Prince  Society  to  reprint 
a  number  of  pamphlets  treating  of  the  currency 
question,  most  of  which  were  issued  during  the 
first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  A  list  of 
the  publications  which  are  intended  to  be  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  series  is  given  below.  The  first  five  titles  are 
all  dated  prior  to  1700,  and  among  them  are  to  be  found 
the  only  exceptions  to  the  general  statement  which  might 
otherwise  be  made,  that'  the  pamphlets  hereinafter  repro¬ 
duced  were  all  the  productions  of  our  own  press.  The  two 
exceptions  are  No.  2,  “A  discourse  in  explanation  of  the 
bank  of  credit,”  which  is  in  manuscript  among  the  Win- 
throp  Papers  at  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and 
No.  3,  which  was  originally  printed  in  London,  but  which 
has  some  inserted  leaves  and  a  supplement,  undoubtedly 
added  in  Boston. 

In  addition  to  the  pamphlets,  there  will  be  included  in  the 
series  certain  communications  to  the  Boston  newspapers,  in 
which  the  emission  in  1733  by  a  company  composed  of 
Boston  merchants,  of  notes  or  bills  of  their  own,  with  a  view 
of  supplanting  the  currency  of  Rhode  Island  bills  of  public 
credit,  is  discussed  at  some  length.  The  discussion  relative 


VI 


Prefatory  Note 

to  this  important  experiment  was  almost  exclusively  confined 
to  the  newspapers,  and  the  subject  forms  too  important  a 
part  of  the  currency  question  of  this  period  to  be  neglected. 

It  is  possible  that  other  pamphlets  may  be  discovered 
while  these  reprints  are  going  through  the  press.  If  such 
should  be  the  case,  such  discoveries  will  be  included  in  the 
series,  in  their  chronological  sequence,  if  the  discovery  is 
opportune,  otherwise  in  an  appendix. 

It  is  believed  that  the  entire  publication  can  be  effected  in 
four  volumes,  including  the  notes  which  the  Editor  will  make 
to  the  several  pamphlets. 

The  list  given  below  furnishes  enough  of  the  titles  of  the 
several  pamphlets  to  distinguish  them  from  each  other. 
The  number  of  pages  of  the  original  edition  of  each  pam¬ 
phlet  is  stated  and  also  the  size  of  the  leaves.  These 
measurements  of  course  merely  indicate  the  present  sizes, 
which  in  many  cases  have  been  materially  reduced  by  indis¬ 
creet  binders.  The  libraries  in  which  the  several  publications 
can  be  found  to-day  are  also  pointed  out. 

A.  McF.  D. 

Cambridge,  June,  1909. 


KEY  TO  ABBREVIATIONS 


A. A.S.,  American  Antiquarian  Society. 

B. A.,  Boston  Athenaeum. 

v 

B.P.L.,  Boston  Public  Library. 

D.,  In  my  own  possession. 

H.C.,  Harvard  College. 

J.C.B.,  John  Carter  Brown  Library,  Providence. 

L. C.,  Library  of  Congress. 

M. H.S.,  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

N. Y.H.S.,  New  York  Historical  Society. 
N.Y.P.L.,  New  York  Public  Library. 

P.H.S.,  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 

W.,  Watkinson  Library,  Hartford. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  PAMPHLETS 


% 


1  Severals  relating  to  the  Fund,  etc.  1682 

Quarto  8  pp.  7f  by  5f.  W. 

2  A  discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank  of  credit,  etc.  1687 

MS.  M.H.S.  . 

3  A  model  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc.  [London]  1688 

38  pp.  5 1  by  3J.  B.A.  B.P.L. 

4  Some  considerations  of  the  bills  of  credit,  etc.  1691 

9  PP-  5i  by  3|-  B.A.  W. 

5  Some  additional  considerations  of  the  bills  of  credit, 

etc.  1691 

13  PP-  5f  by  3f-  B.A.  W. 

* 

6  A  model  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc.  [Reprint  1688]  1714 

30  pp.  5 1  by  3§.  B.A.  J.C.B.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

7  Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,  etc.  1 7 1 4 

32  pp.  5!  by  3J.  A.A.S.  B.P.L.  J.C.B.  L.C. 

8  A  letter  from  one  in  Boston  to  his  friend,  etc.  17 14 

37  PP-  5f  by  3|.  A.A.S.  •  B.A.  B.P.L.  D. 
M.H.S. 

9  A  vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit,  etc.  171 4 

20  PP-  5 1  by  3f.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  H.C. 

L.C.  M.H.S. 

10  A  projection  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc.  171 4 

22  pp.  5f  by  3|.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  H.C. 

L.C.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 


11  Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts  of  banks, 

etc.  1716 

16  pp.  6|  by  4|.  B.P.L.  J.C.B. 


12 

13 

14 

15 

1 6 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 


ix 

1719 

1719 

1720 

1720 

1720 

1720 

1720 

1720 

1720 

1720 


Chronological  List  of  Pamphlets 

The  present  melancholy  circumstances,  etc. 

1 6  pp.  5f  by  3f.  B.P.L.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

An  addition  to  the  present  melancholy  circumstances, 
etc. 

27  pp.  6\  by  3f.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  considered, 
etc. 

iopp.6jby3f.  A.A.S.  B.P.L.  D.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

A  letter  from  one  in  the  country,  etc. 

22  pp.  6J  by  4f.  B.P.L.  D.  L.C.  M.H.S. 
N.Y.P.L. 

The  Postscript. 

3  PP-  7\  by  5f.  A.A.S.  L.C. 

A  letter  from  a  gentleman  containing  some  remarks, 
etc. 

I5PP-6by4.  B.P.L.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

A  vindication  of  the  remarks  of  one  in  the  country, 
etc. 

20  pp.  6\  by  4J.  A.A.S.  B.P.L.  L.C.  N.Y.P.L. 

# 

Reflections  on  the  present  state  of  the  province,  etc. 

22  pp.  5f  by  3§.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  M.H.S. 

The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  once  more 
considered,  etc. 

22  pp.  5!  by  3f.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  M.H.S. 
N.Y.P.L. 

Some  proposals  to  benefit  the  province. 

15  PP-  6J-  by  3§.  A.A.S.  D. 

Reflections  upon  reflections  or  more  news,  etc. 

14  pp.  6  by  3f.  B.P.L. 

New  news  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  Island,  etc. 

8  pp.  si  by  3|.  B.P.L.  L.C. 


X 


Chronological  List  of  Pamphlets 


24  A  project  for  the  emission  of  .£100,000,  etc.  1720 

1 6  pp.  6^  by  3-J.  A.A.S.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

25  A  letter  to  an  eminent  clergyman,  etc.  1720 

13  PP-  5t  by  B.A.  B.P.L.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

26  A  word  of  comfort  to  a  melancholy  country,  etc.  1721 

58  pp.  5f  by  3f.  A.A.S.  B.P.L.  J.C.B.  L.C. 

M.H.S. 

27  A  friendly  check  from  a  kind  relation,  etc.  1721 

7  pp.  5 1  by  3|.  B.A.  B.P.L.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

28  A  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Mount  Hope  to  his  friend 

in  Treamount.  1721 

7  pp.  6  by  3|.  B.P.L. 

29  A  discourse  shewing  that  the  real  first  cause,  etc.  1721 

16  pp.  4!  by  3|.  B.P.L.  L.C. 

30  The  second  part  of  South  Sea  stock,  etc.  1721 

26  pp.  5f  by  3 J.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D. 

31  A  modest  enquiry  into  the  nature,  etc.  1729 

36  pp.  6|  by  4|.  P.H.S. 

32  Trade  and  Commerce  inculcated,  etc.  1731 

58  pp.  by  4f .  L.C. 

33  Money  the  sinews  of  trade,  etc.  1731 

16  pp.  6\  by  4J.  B.A.  B.P.L.  H.C. 

34  Lex  et  Libertas.  1732 

3  pp.  12  by  7J.  N.Y.H.S. 

35  Extracts  from  newspapers. 

The  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  January  14.  1734 

The  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  February  4.  1734 

The  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  February  18.  1734 

The  Weekly  Rehearsal,  February  18.  1 7 34 

The  Boston  Gazette,  February  25.  1734 

The  Weekly  Rehearsal,  March  4.  17 34 

The  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  March  1 1.  1734 


Chronological  List  of  Pamphlets  xi 

The  Weekly  Rehearsal,  March  18.  1734 

The  Weekly  Rehearsal,  March  25.  *734 

The  Weekly  Rehearsal,  April  1.  1734 

36  The  melancholy  state  of  the  province  considered,  etc.  1736 

14  pp.  6  by  4.  A.A.S. 

37  A  letter  to  a  member  of  the  Hon.  House,  etc.  1736 

9  PP*  by  5f.  A.A.S.  B.P.L.  H.C.  L.C. 
M.H.S. 

38  A  proposal  to  supply  the  trade  with  a  medium,  etc.  1737 

11  pp.  5|  by  3f.  B.A.  B.P.L. 

39  Some  observations  on  the  scheme  projected  for  emit¬ 

ting,  j£6o,ooo,  etc.  1738 

25  pp.  7f  by  4J.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  H.C, 

J.C.B.  L.C.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

40  An  essay  concerning  silver  and  paper  currencies,  etc.  1738 

2 3  PP*  7f  by  4f*  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  L.C. 

M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

41  A  scheme  for  a  paper  currency.  1739 

12  pp.  12^  by  7f.  J.C.B. 

42  A  discourse  concerning  the  currencies,  etc.  1740 

47  PP*  7l  by  5|.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  H.C. 

J.C.B.  L.C.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

43  A  letter  relating  to  a  medium  of  trade,  etc.  1740 

1 6  pp.  7f  by  5§.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  H.C. 
M.H.S. 

44  A  letter  from  a  country  gentleman  at  Boston,  etc.  1740 

12  pp.  5f  by  3f.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  L.C. 

45  An  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  uses  of  money,  etc.  1740 

78  pp.  7!  by  4|.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D.  H.C. 

J.C.B.  L.C.  N.Y.P.L. 

46  Postscript  to  a  Discourse  concerning  the  currencies,  1740 

etc. 


14  pp.  7!  by  5^.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  D. 


•  • 


Chronological  List  of  Pamphlets 


Xll 


47  A  letter  to - ,  merchant  in  London,  etc.  1741 

14  pp.  7|  by  5^.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  J.C.B. 
M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

48  A  letter  to  the  merchant  in  London  to  whom  is  di¬ 

rected,  etc.  I741 

28  pp.  7J  by  4f.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  L.C. 


M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

49  A  second  letter  to - ,  merchant  in  London, 

etc.  1741 

16  pp.  7J  by  4J.  B.P.L. 

50  Observations  occasioned  by  reading  a  pamphlet,  etc.  1741 

22  pp.  7!  by  4J.  J.C.B.  L.C. 

51  An  enquiry  into  the  state  of  the  bills  of  credit,  etc.  1743 

52  pp.  7fby5^.  B.A.  D.  J.C.B.  L.C. 

52  An  account  of  the  rise,  progress,  etc.  of  the  two  late 

schemes,  etc.  1744 

91  PP*  7\  by  5*  H.C.  M.H.S. 

53  A  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston,  etc.  1744 


15  PP-  7%  by  6.  A.A.S.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L.  W. 

54  A  word  in  season  to  all  true  lovers  of  their  liberty,  etc.  1748 

16  pp.  6\  by  3|.  M.H.S.  W. 

55  A  brief  account  of  the  rise,  progress  and  present  state 

of  the  paper  currency,  etc.  1749 

15  pp.  7j  by  5^.  A.A.S.  B.A.  M.H.S. 

56  Some  observations  relating  to  the  present  circum¬ 

stances  of  the  province,  etc.  *75° 

2°  pp.  7!  by  5-J.  A.A.S.  B.A.  B.P.L.  J.C.B. 
M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 

57  Massachusetts  in  agony,  etc.  17 50 

19  pp.  7|  by  4J.  L.C.  M.H.S. 

58  Appendix  to  Massachusetts  in  agony,  etc.  1751 

19  pp.  8J  by  6\.  A.A.S.  M.H.S.  N.Y.P.L. 


52 

13 

58 

55 

42 

2 

29 

14 

20 

51 

40 

35 

2  7 

45 

44 

17 

53 

28 

8 

15 

43 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  PAMPHLETS 


Account  of  the  rise,  progress,  etc.,  of  the  two  late 

schemes.  1744 

Addition  to  the  present  melancholy  circumstances.  1719 
Appendix  to  Massachusetts  in  agony.  1751 

Brief  account  of  the  rise,  progress  and  present  state 

of  the  paper  currency.  1749 

Discourse  concerning  the  currencies.  1740 

Discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank  of  credit,  1687 

Discourse  shewing  that  the  real  first  cause.  1721 

Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  considered.  1720 
Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  once  more 

considered.  1720 

Enquiry  into  the  state  of  the  bills  of  credit.  1743 

Essay  concerning  silver  and  paper  currencies.  1738 

Extracts  from  newspapers.  1734 

Friendly  check  from  a  kind  relation.  1721 

Inquiry  into  the  nature  and  uses  of  money.  1740 

Letter  from  a  country  gentleman  at  Boston.  1740 

Letter  from  a  gentleman  containing  some  remarks.  1720 

Letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston.  1744 

Letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Mount  Hope  to  his  friend 

# 

in  Treamount.  1721 

Letter  from  one  in  Boston  to  his  friend.  171 4 

Letter  from  one  in  the  country.  *  I72° 

Letter  relating  to  a  medium  of  trade.  174° 


37 

25 

47 

48 

34 

57 

36 

3 

6 

3i 

33 

23 

7 

50 

1 6 

46 

12 

10 

24 

38 

19 

22 

41 

49 

30 

i 

5 

4 

1 1 


1736 

1720 

1741 

1741 

1732 

1750 

1736 

1 688 

1714 

1729 

1731 

1720 

1714 

1741 

1720 

1740 

1719 

1714 

1720 

1737 

1720 

1720 

1739 

1741 

1721 

1682 

1691 

1691 

1716 


Alphabetical  List  of  Pamphlets 

Letter  to  a  member  of  the  Hon.  House. 

Letter  to  an  eminent  clergyman. 

Letter  to - merchant  in  London. 

Letter  to  the  merchant  in  London  to  whom  is 
directed. 

Lex  et  Libertas. 

Massachusetts  in  agony. 

Melancholy  state  of  the  province  considered. 

Model  for  erecting  a  bank  [London]. 

Model  for  erecting  a  bank  [Reprint  1688]. 

Modest  enquiry  into  the  nature. 

Money  the  sinews  of  trade. 

New  news  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  Island. 

Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit. 

Observations  occasioned  by  reading  a  pamphlet. 
Postscript. 

Postscript  to  a  Discourse  concerning  the  currencies. 
Present  melancholy  circumstances. 

Projection  for  erecting  a  bank. 

Project  for  the  emission  of  ;£  100,000. 

Proposal  to  supply  the  trade  with  a  medium. 
Reflections  on  the  present  state  of  the  province. 
Reflections  upon  reflections  or  more  news. 

Scheme  for  a  paper  currency. 

Second  letter  to - ,  merchant  in  London. 

Second  part  of  South  Sea  stock. 

Severals  relating  to  the  Fund. 

Some  additional  considerations  of  the  bills  of  credit. 
Some  considerations  of  the  bills  of  credit. 

Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts  of  banks. 


XV 


Alphabetical  List  of  Pamphlets 


39  Some  observations  on  the  scheme  projected  for  emit¬ 
ting  £ 60,000 . 

56  Some  observations  relating  to  the  present  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  province. 

21  Some  proposals  to  benefit  the  province. 

32  Trade  and  commerce  inculcated. 

9  Vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit. 

18  Vindication  of  the  remarks  of  one  in  the  country. 

54  Word  in  season  to  all  true  lovers  of  their  liberty. 

26  Word  of  comfort  to  a  melancholy  country. 


1738 

1750 

1720 

1731 

1714 

1720 
1748 

1721 


♦ 


• , 


■ 


% 


. 

* 


t-: 

/ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Prefatory  Note . 

Key  to  Abbreviations . 

Chronological  List  of  Pamphlets . 

Alphabetical  List  of  Pamphlets . 

List  of  Illustrations . .  .  . 

Introduction . . 

Severals  relating  to  the  Fund,  etc . 

Note  to  “Severals  relating  to  the  Fund,”  etc.  .  .  . 

A  discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank  of  credit,  etc. 
Note  to  “A  discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank  of 

credit,”  etc . 

A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,  etc.  (London,  1688) 
Note  to  “A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc. 

(London,  1688) . .  . 

Some  considerations  on  the  bills  of  credit,  etc . 

Note  to  “Some  considerations  on  the  bills  of  credit,” 

etc . 

Some  additional  considerations  on  the  bills  of  credit,  etc. 
Note  to  “  Some  additional  considerations  on  the  bills 

OF  CREDIT,”  ETC . 

A  MODEL  FOR  ERECTING  A  BANK  OF  CREDIT,  ETC.  (Boston  reprint, 

I7I4> . 

Note  to  “A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc. 

(Boston  reprint,  1714) . 

Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,  etc . 

Note  to  “Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  .  . 


Pages 

.  .  v-vi 

•  • 

.  .  Vll 

•  •  •  •  • 
,  VI11-X11 

,  xiii-xv 
.  xix-xx 
1-106 
109-118 
118-119 
122-146 

146-151 

154-187 

187-188 

189-195 

195-196 

197-206 

206-208 

210-237 

237“238 

240-261 

261-262 


xviii  .  Contents 

Pages 

A  LETTER  FROM  ONE  IN  BOSTON  TO  HIS  FRIEND  IN  THE 

COUNTRY,  ETC . 264-292 

Note  to  “  A  letter  from  one  in  Boston  to  his  friend 

IN  THE  COUNTRY,”  ETC . 292-293 

A  VINDICATION  OF  THE  BANK  OF  CREDIT,  ETC . 296-3 1 1 

Note  to  “A  vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  .  3 12-3 17 

A  projection  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,  etc .  320-333 

Note  to  “A  projection  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  333-334 
Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts  of  banks,  etc.  336-348 
Note  to  “Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts 

of  banks,”  etc . 348-349 

The  present  melancholy  circumstances  of  the  province 

CONSIDERED,  ETC . 351-363 

Note  to  “  The  present  melancholy  circumstances  of 

THE  PROVINCE  CONSIDERED,”  ETC . 363-365 

An  ADDITION  TO  THE  PRESENT  MELANCHOLY  CIRCUMSTANCES  OF 

THE  PROVINCE  CONSIDERED,  ETC . 367-396 

Note  to  “An  addition  to  the  present  melancholy  cir¬ 
cumstances  OF  THE  PROVINCE  CONSIDERED,”  ETC.  .  .  .  396 

The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  considered,  etc.  398-408 
Note  to  “The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston 

CONSIDERED,”  ETC . 408-413 

A  LETTER  FROM  ONE  IN  THE  COUNTRY  TO  HIS  FRIEND  IN 

Boston,  etc . 416-442 

Note  to  “A  letter  from  one  in  the  country  to  his  friend 

in  Boston,”  etc . 442-444 

The  Postscript . 445-448 

Note  to  “The  Postscript” . 448-452 


Index . 453-47* 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait  of  John  Colman . Frontispiece 

From  a  plate  loaned  by  the  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts. 

Page 

First  page  of  “  Severals  relating  to  the  Fund,”  etc . 108 

Showing  a  memorandum  in  tho  handwriting  of  the  Reverend  Thomas  Prince  —  Photo¬ 
graphed  by  permission  of  The  Watkinson  Library,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Manuscript  title-page  of  “  A  discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank  of 

credit,”  etc . 120 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of  u  A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  (London, 

1688) . 152 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 

First  page  of  “Some  considerations  on  the  bills  of  credit,”  etc.  .  .  .  188 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 

First  page  of  “  Some  additional  considerations,”  etc . ,196 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 

Title-page  of  “A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  (Boston 

reprint,  1714) . 208 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of  “Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,”  etc . 238 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

Title-page  of  “  A  letter  from  one  in  Boston,”  etc . .  262 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of  “A  vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit,”  etc . 294 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of  “A  projection  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit,”  etc.  .  .  .  318 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 


XX 


Illustrations 


Title-page  of  “  Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts  of  banks,”  etc. 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

First  page  of  “  The  present  melancholy  circumstances  of  the  province 
consider’d,”  etc . 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

First  page  of  “  An  addition  to  the  present  melancholy  circumstances,” 
etc . 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of “  The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  considered,” 
etc . 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Title-page  of  “  A  letter  from  one  in  the  country  to  his  friend  in  Boston,” 
etc . 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

First  page  of  the  “  Postscript  ” . 

Photographed  by  permission  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society. 


* 


Page 

334 

35° 

366 

396 

414 

444 


INTRODUCTION 


HE  publication  of  this  series  of  reprints  calls 
for  a  preliminary  explanation  of  what  they  are 
and  a  brief  consideration  of  the  monetary  epi¬ 
sode  to  which  they  relate.  Practically,  they 
might  be  described  as  tracts  relating  to  the  cur¬ 
rency,  deriving  their  origin  in  this  country  and  belonging  to 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  that  would  not 
be  strictly  accurate,  since,  to  make  the  story  complete,  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  go  back  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Fund  in  Boston  in  1681  and  to  include  the  literature  re¬ 
lating  to  that  experiment  as  well  as  the  publications  which 
bear  upon  the  attempt  to  establish  a  bank  in  Boston  in  1686. 
Following  this  comes  the  contemporaneous  discussion  of 
the  currency  emitted  by  the  colonial  government  in  1690 
and  1691,  of  which  we  have  scarcely  a  trace,  but  what  there 
is  necessarily  commands  great  interest. 

It  is  essential  to  bear  in  mind  that  when  the  first  emis¬ 
sion  of  colonial  currency  was  made  in  1690,  the  world  was 
unfamiliar  with  the  use  of  paper  money.  One  or  two 
specimens  are  known  to  exist  of  Chinese  paper  money  of  a 
much  earlier  date.  We  read  in  history  of  iron  money, 
leather  money,  and  of  substitutes  for  coined  silver  and  gold 

VOL.  I  —  I 


2 


Colonial  Currency 

which  were  made  use  of  in  times  of  war  and  are  spoken  of 
as  siege  money.  The  Chinese  experience  had  no  influence 
whatever  upon  the  Occident,  and  the  successes  or  the  failures 
of  the  various  attempts  under  emergent  circumstances  to 
make  use  of  substitutes  for  coins  composed  of  the  precious 
metals  had  not  made  any  mark  upon  the  currency  of  the 
civilized  world.  Men  depended  for  a  circulating  medium 
in  the  seventeenth  century  exclusively  upon  coin  bearing 
governmental  stamps,  which  practically  certified  their  value 
in  trade,  when  in  perfect  condition.  The  degradation  of 
the  coin  then  in  circulation,  through  wear  and  through  filing 
and  sweating,  was  so  great  that  in  certain  places  banks  of 
deposit  were  opened,  where  customers  could  place  their  gold 
and  silver  coins,  whatever  their  condition,  and  receive  in 
return  an  equivalent  credit  in  terms  of  standard  coinage  for 
the  bullion  value  of  the  metal.  So  great  was  the  deprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  coins  ordinarily  in  use  at  that  time  that  bank 
credits,  in  the  bank  of  Venice,  were  said  to  have  been  at 
twenty  per  cent,  premium,  —  this  premium  being  in  effect 
merely  the  measure  of  the  degradation  of  the  coin  in  circu¬ 
lation.  These  credits  are  spoken  of  by  contemporaneous 
writers  as  the  paper  of  the  bank,  but  it  would  seem  as  if 
they  might  better  have  been  described  as  the  paper  of  the 
customers  of  the  bank.  As  the  Bank  of  England  was  not 
established  until  four  years  after  the  first  emission  of 
currency  by  the  colony,  its  influence  and  its  example  could 
only  apply  to  affect  transactions  of  a  later  date. 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  there 
was  much  speculation  among  English-speaking  people  as 
to  the  means  at  hand  to  improve  and  increase  the  circu¬ 
lating  medium.  A  number  of  pamphlets  containing  propo- 


Introduction 


3 


sitions  for  banks  were  promulgated,  in  which  the  general 
underlying  idea  was  that  by  securing  the  deposit  in  bank  of 
all  the  coin  in  circulation  and  by  effecting  trade  settlements 
by  means  of  bank  credits,  there  would  be  a  diminution  of 
expense  to  merchants  and  an  increased  efficiency  of  the 
coin.  Others  proposed  to  get  along  without  money  by 
granting  bank  credits  upon  mortgages  of  lands  or  pledges 
of  personal  property  and  effecting  settlements  between  in¬ 
dividuals  by  transfers  of  bank  credit.  In  New  England 
there  were  a  few  who  turned  their  attention  to  speculations 
of  this  sort.  Governor  John  Winthrop  of  Connecticut,  in 
1663,  submitted  to  the  Royal  Society  a  plan  for  a  bank,  the 
details  of  which  are  not  known. 

The  Fund 

In  the  spring  of  1682  there  was  published  in  Boston  an 
eight-page  pamphlet  which  the  author  entitled  “  Severals 
relating  to  the  Fund.”  Setting  aside  the  perplexities  caused 
by  the  verbiage  of  the  period,  this  little  pamphlet  appears 
to  be  the  description  of  the  work  accomplished  by  certain 
Boston  merchants  who,  in  the  fall  of  1681,  had  organized 
themselves  into  a  company  which  they  called  “  The  Fund,” 
for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  between  themselves  their  mutual 
accounts,  by  making  use  of  what  they  termed  “  Fund  Credit,” 
instead  of  money.  The  author  of  the  pamphlet,  who  was 
also  the  originator  of  the  scheme,  has  been  identified  by  the 
late  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  as  the  Reverend  John  Wood- 
bridge  of  Newbury.  Woodbridge  had  met  William  Potter, 
the  author  of  “  The  Key  of  Wealth,”  in  London,  and  in  1649 
Potter  had  talked  with  him  about  his  scheme  for  erecting  a 


4 


Colonial  Currency 

bank  which  should  furnish  credit  based  upon  security  given 
in  real  or  personal  property,  which  credit  might  serve  as  a 
medium  for  adjusting  accounts.  In  1664,  Woodbridge  being 
in  this  country,  the  deplorable  condition  of  affairs  through 
lack  of  an  adequate  medium  of  exchange  brought  to  his 
mind  the  theory  suggested  by  Potter,  —  of  a  bank  which 
should  furnish  a  means  of  transacting  business  through  its 
credits  without  the  use  of  money.  The  discussion  of  this 
affair  in  1667  attracted  the  attention  of  the  council  of  the 
colony,  and  about  that  time  Woodbridge  prepared  a  “  Pro¬ 
posal  ”  for  erecting  a  “Fund  of  Land,”  that  is  to  say, 
a  company  which  should  give  individuals  credit  on  the 
security  of  mortgages  on  land,  which  credit  could  be  passed 
if  we  accept  the  methods  actually  proposed  for  the  “  Fund,” 
by  “  book  entries,”  or  “  bills  of  exchange  ”  and  “  change  bills.” 
He  makes  the  statement  that  a  similar  proposal  to  the  one 
then  prepared  was  to  be  found  on  file  in  the  records  of  the 
general  court,  from  which  we  may  infer  that  in  1667  or 
1668  he  submitted  his  scheme  to  the  council.  His  proposi¬ 
tion  was  that  “Credit  passed  in  Fund  by  Book  and  Bills  will 
supply  the  defect  of  Money.”  He  further  states  that  March 
30,  1671,  the  experiment  of  a  Fund  on  this  basis  was  ac¬ 
tually  made  and  was  carried  on  in  private  for  many  months. 
Apparently,  this  experiment  in  private  was  sufficiently  suc¬ 
cessful  to  induce  a  number  of  Boston  merchants  to  make  a 
similar  experiment  in  the  fall  of  1681,  the  account  of  which 
in  the  spring  of  1682  was  given  to  the  public  under  the  title 
of  “Severals  relating  to  the  Fund.” 

The  pamphlet  ends  abruptly.  The  author  on  page  four 
of  his  narrative  had  brought  up  the  question  of*  “A  proposal 
for  erecting  a  Fund  of  Land,”  etc.  On  page  five,  he  had 


Introduction 


5 


followed  the  matter  up  with  a  “  Secondly  ”  in  his  division  of 
the  subject,  but  on  page  six  he  says,  “  The  other  two  Sections 
of  the  Proposal  must  be  pass’d  to  the  2 d.  sheet ,  pag.  9.  It 
being  needful  to  make  a  Digression,  to  give  an  account 
of  the  publishing  this  undertaking  sooner  than  intended.” 
That  is  to  say,  he  drops  the  portion  of  the  subject  which  he 
is  treating,  and  fills  what  is  left  of  the  eight  pages  with  the 
digression,  concluding  the  same  at  the  bottom  of  page 
eight  with  a  catchword  for  page  nine.  This  catchword, 
“  Thirdly,”  indicates  an  intention  to  resume  the  interrupted 
argument  in  the  next  sheet,  as  stated  on  page  six.  It  may 
be  that  the  pamphlet  as  originally  issued  was  of  greater 
length  than  eight  pages,  and  its  abrupt  closure  with  a  catch¬ 
word  taken  by  itself  certainly  justifies  the  inference  that 
what  has  been  preserved  is  only  a  part  of  a  larger  pamphlet. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sudden  “  digression  ”  —  in  order 
to  publish  an  account  of  the  affair  sooner  than  intended  — 
the  postponement  of  the  discussion  of  the  thirdly  of  the 
argument  as  to  the  proposal  for  erecting  a  Fund  of  Land  to 
page  nine,  that  is  to  say,  to  the  second  sheet,  which  could 
be  independently  printed,  suggests  the  idea  that  the 
managers  of  the  Fund  were  in  a  hurry  to  emit  a  prospectus 
of  the  concern,  and  that  they  cut  short  the  prolixity  of 
Mr.  Woodbridge,  meaning,  perhaps,  while  they  availed  them¬ 
selves  for  their  immediate  purpose,  of  the  work  which  he 
has  already  done,  to  permit  him  at  a  later  date  to  complete 
“  Several s  relating  to  the  Fund  ”  according  to  his  original 
intention.  Whatever  the  facts  as  to  these  eight  pages  may 
be,  whether  they  are  a  fragment  of  a  larger  pamphlet,  or 
whether  they  constitute  a  prospectus,  improvised  out  of  a 
part  of  a  proposed  pamphlet,  the  abrupt  ending  gives  the 


6  Colonial  Currency 

promise  of  a  second  sheet,  containing  perhaps  eight  pages 
more. 

Mr.  Trumbull,  treating  of  the  Fund,  says  in  his  “  First 
essays  at  banking  in  New  England  ”  that  “  a  bank  of  credit 
was  established  and  began  to  issue  bills  in  September  1681.”1 
This  statement  is  founded  directly  upon  the  language  of  the 
text  of  the  pamphlet,  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  no  trace 
of  this  “  bank  of  credit”  had  been  disclosed  in  1901,  when 
the  volume  devoted  to  banking,  in  the  work  entitled,  “  Cur¬ 
rency  and  Banking  in  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,”  was  published,  the  inference  was  drawn  in  that  work 
that  the  bills  or  notes  were  perhaps  based  upon  individual 
credit,  a  circumstance  that  would  explain  why  they  should 
have  escaped  the  attention  which  notes  based  upon  the  credit 
of  the  company  would  naturally  have  attracted.  The  publica¬ 
tion  of  the  twelfth  volume  of  “  Suffolk  Deeds  ”  upset  the 
basis  upon  which  the  objection  to  Mr.  Trumbull’s  statement 
was  founded.  Here,  in  this  volume,  were  half  a  dozen 
mortgages  running  to  the  Fund,  between  the  dates  of  Sep¬ 
tember  *14,  1681,  and  February  22,  1683,  inclusive,  all  of 
which  were  recorded  in  the  Suffolk  registry.  A  searcher, 
running  hastily  through  the  manuscript  records  of  the  regis¬ 
try  might  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  trustees  to 
whom  the  mortgages  ran  represented  a  new  banking  experi¬ 
ment,  but  if  he  had  by  chance  examined  the  Middlesex 
registry,  he  would  have  found  there  a  marginal  entry  which 
should  have  put  him  on  his  guard.  There,  Thomas  Dan- 
forth,  the  register,  made  the  following  notation  against  a 
mortgage  to  the  Fund:  “Jno.  Starkie  to  the  Fund.  Hez. 
Usher  &  Adam  Winthrop.” 

1  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  October,  1884,  P-  275. 


Introduction 


7 

These  revelations  from  the  registries  of  deeds  fully 
justify  Mr.  Trumbull’s  conclusions,  but  they  do  not  relieve 
us  from  the  necessity  of  examining  the  questions,  What 
could  Woodbridge  have  meant  by  the  bills  which  he  began 
to  pass  forth  in  September,  1 68 1  ?  Were  those  bills  what 
we  should  call  bank  bills  ?  If  we  run  through  “  Severals 
relating  to  the  Fund,”  we  shall  find  that  the  author  speaks 
of  bills,  bank  bills,  fund  bills,  change  bills,  bills  of  exchange, 
and  pass  bills.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  necessary  to  seek  a  close 
definition  of  the  author’s  meaning  for  all  of  these  terms, 
provided  we  .can  select  therefrom  the  one  through  which  he 
meant  to  furnish  a  circulating  medium  to  the  public.  He 
speaks  in  his  Proposal  of  passing  credit  in  the  Fund  by 
book  entries,  or  bills  of  exchange  for  great  payments,  and 
change  bills  for  running  cash.  Again,  he  says  of  the  change 
bills,  “they  may  be  so  contrived  as  to  pass  with  facility, 
and  without  counterfeiting.”  It  was  the  change  bill,  then, 
which  was  to  serve  this  purpose. 

It  was  apparently  intended  that  at  the  outset  the  use  of 
“  Fund  Credit  ”  should  be  limited  to  “  Fundors,”  as  they  are 
termed;  this  rule  was,  however,  only  to  remain  in  force 
until  other  persons  should  see  that  it  was  to  their  interest 
to  accept  “  Fund  pay.”  In  practice,  the  use  of  the  change 
bill  must  have  been  very  similar  to  the  modern  letter  of 
credit.  Those  who  accepted  a  portion  of  the  credit  in 
adjustment  of  an  account  noted  on  the  bill  the  amount 
thus  accepted  precisely  as  a  banker  notes  on  a  letter  of 
credit  the  advance  that  he  makes,  and,  in  addition,  just  as 
the  banker  who  makes  his  advance  forwards  his  draft  to  the 
grantor  of  the  letter  of  credit,  so  the  acceptor  of  the  Fund 
Credit  was  supposed  to  secure  at  the  office  of  the  Fund  the 


8 


Colonial  Currency 

necessary  transfer  of  the  amount  of  credit  accepted.  While 
it  is  plain  that  in  a  place  where  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of 
the  circulating  medium,  even  such  a  cumbersome  system  as 
this  might  be  of  some  benefit,  especially  in  a  small  provincial 
town,  it  is  equally  clear  that  the  change  bill  was  not  what 
we  should  naturally  think  of,  if  the  bald  statement  were 
made  that  bank  bills  were  circulated  in  Boston  in  1681. 


Blackwell’s  Bank 

The  convictions  of  the  author  of  “  Severals  relating  to  the 
Fund  ”  as  to  the  result  of  the  six  months’  trial  of  Fund 
Credit  are  set  forth  in  his  assertion  that  he  “  had  rational 
Grounds  to  conclude  that  it  would  work  itself  up  into  Credit 
with  discreet  men.”  A  much  more  satisfactory  proof  of  the 
impression  made  upon  Boston  merchants  by  this  experiment 
was  the  attempt  which  followed  a  short  time  thereafter  to 
organize  a  Bank  of  Credit,  which  should  issue  bank  bills  of 
credit.  These  bills  were  to  circulate  among  those  who  were 
satisfied  with  the  security  afforded  by  the  company  and  con¬ 
fided  in  the  credit  of  the  persons  who  should  put  their  signa¬ 
tures  to  them.  Application  was  made  to  the  council  in  the 
summer  of  1686  for  some  sort  of  approval  by  the  government 
of  the  organization  which  it  was  proposed  to  form.  It  will  be 
borne  in  mind  that  this  was  two  years  after  the  annulment 
of  the  charter  of  the  colony,  and  the  affairs  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  were  then  being  administered  by  a  president  and 
council.  Andros  had  not  yet  arrived.  Joseph  Dudley,  a 
Massachusetts  man,  was  at  the  head  of  the  government. 
The  legislative  records  of  that  period  are  incomplete,  but 
there  is  evidence  that  some  time  prior  to  July,  1686,  Captain 


Introduction 


9 


John  Blackwell,  a  man  of  speculative  temperament  who  had 
drifted  to  Boston  a  short  time  before,  submitted  to  the 
council  for  approval  a  scheme  for  the  establishment  of  a 
bank  of  credit.  This  scheme  was,  on  the  third  of  July  of 
that  year,  referred  to  a  grand  and  standing  committee  com¬ 
posed  of  divers  eminent  and  wealthy  persons,  merchants, 
and  others  for  their  consideration  and  report.1  This  com¬ 
mittee  afterward  reported  that  the  proposed  bank  would  be 
“  very  useful  and  conduceable  to  the  encouraging  of  trade, 
navigation,  manufactures,  planting  and  improving  of  lands 
and  estates,  increasing  of  his  Majesty’s  revenues,  facilitating 
the  payment  thereof,  and  of  other  debts,  and  removing  the 
present  greatest  obstruction  thereto.”  On  the  twenty-seventh 
of  September,  1686,  a  draft  of  a  concession  or  grant  was 
submitted,  in  which  the  report  of  the  committee  was  accepted 
and  the  opinion  was  expressed  that  the  plan  would  tend  to 
his  Majesty’s  service  if  countenanced  by  authority.  More¬ 
over,  the  approbation  of  the  council  was  avowed ;  the 
“  countenance  of  his  Majesty’s  authority,  respect  and  assist¬ 
ance  ”  was  promised ;  and  it  was  set  forth  that  the  govern¬ 
ment  engaged  “  not  to  molest,  hinder,  or  interrupt  the  said 
bank  or  managers  thereof  in  any  of  their  lawful  doings 
therein  according  to  the  said  constitution.” 2  It  was  even 
proposed  that  the  bills  of  the  bank  should  be  a  legal  tender. 
They  were  to  “  be  esteemed  as  current  moneys  in  all  receipts 
and  payments,  as  well  as  for  his  Majesty’s  Revenue,  by  the 
Treasurer  and  Receivers  thereof  as  any  other  occasion  for 
moneys  whatsoever  in  common  trade  and  dealings.”  3 

This  approval  of  the  proposed  scheme  for  a  bank  of  issue 

1  Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  126,  2  Ibid.y  No.  106. 

No.  104.  8  Ibid. 


i  o  Colonial  Currency 

led  to  the  organization  of  a  company  the  purpose  of  which 
was  to  carry  the  scheme  into  effect ;  or  at  any  rate,  if  the 
final  steps  in  the  process  of  organization  were  not  then 
taken,  all  the  preliminary  work  was  accomplished.  This  is 
shown  by  fragments  of  the  scheme  to  be  found  in  the 
Massachusetts  Archives,  in  which  the  names  of  certain 
proposed  participants  in  the  affair  are  designated  by  initials 
and  other  documents  in  which  they  are  given  in  full. 
The  names  associated  with  the  enterprise  indicate  that  the 
most  prominent  men  in  the  colony  had  been  brought  in  to 
its  support.  Joseph  Dudley,  president  of  the  council  from 
May  to  December,  1686,  and  afterward  a  member  of  the 
council ;  William  Stoughton,  a  member  of  the  council ; 
John  Blackwell,  the  projector  of  the  scheme,  and  Wait 
Winthrop,  a  member  of  the  council,  were  designated  as 
assessors,  their  function  of  office  being  somewhat  similar  to 
that  which  we  impose  upon  directors  of  a  company  to-day, 
and  in  their  hands  was  lodged  the  power  to  proceed  with 
the  work.  The  names  of  Simon  Lynde,  James  Russell 
Isaac  Addington,  Elisha  Hutchinson,  John  Saffin,  Adam 
Winthrop,  and  Elisha  Cooke  are  also  to  be  found  in  these 
documents,  and  their  presence  indicates  an  endorsement  of 
the  scheme  by  the  business  men  of  Boston. 

Although  the  papers  in  the  archives  bearing  on  this 
experiment  are  incomplete  and  some  of  them  fragmentary, 
still  enough  remains  to  show  that  a  singularly  cumbrous  and 
unwieldy  organization  was  contemplated  for  the  proposed 
company.  There  were  to  be  assessors,  in  whom  was 
lodged  the  ultimate  control  of  the  bank,  and  managers, 
who  were  to  be  subdivided  into  principal  and  deputy 
managers.  There  was  to  be  a  comptroller  and  a  deputy 


Introduction 


1 1 

comptroller.  There  was  to  be  a  master,  an  assistant 
master,  three  trustees,  and  two  treasurers.  There  was  to 
be  an  accountant  and  his  clerk,  a  secretary  and  his  clerk,  and 
provision  was  made  for  an  agent  at  the  court  of  England. 

Preposterous  as  this  elaborate  organization  may  seem  for 
a  bank  in  a  little  provincial  town,  there  is  evidence  that 
much  was  expected  of  it  in  the  way  of  profit.  A  plan  was 
promulgated  for  the  division  of  the  proposed  profits  into 
one  hundred  and  twelve  parts.  The  destination  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  of  these  parts  was  known.  They  were  to  be  received 
by  the  various  officers  of  the  bank  whose  titles  have  been 
mentioned,  but  where  the  remaining  twelve  parts  were  ulti¬ 
mately  to  be  distributed  does  not  appear.  They  were  to  be 
paid  to  the  assessors  for  friends  to  the  bank.  Who  these 
were  was  not  disclosed  to  the  public.  A  correspondent  of 
the  period  whose  manuscript  has  been  by  chance  preserved, 
referring  to  the  subject,  says,  “  I  know  not  who.”1  Joseph 
Dudley  writing  in  December,  1687,  speaks  of  the  destination 
of  the  reserved  shares  as  though  the  matter  was  fully  under¬ 
stood  ;  but  adds,  “  Further  speech  about  the  matter  I  judge 
not  convenient  until  we  get  further  advanced  and  have 
received  your  express  direction  to  attend  to  a  very  good  and 
large  dividend  of  profit.”  2 

The  subtlety  displayed  by  the  promoter  of  this  enterprise 
in  thus  securing  the  active  interest  of  the  members  of  the 
council  and  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  Boston  mer¬ 
chants  savors  somewhat  of  modern  methods.  There  was 
no  reason  why  these  gentlemen  should  not  have  participated 
in  the  expected  profits,  but  there  is  a  hint  of  what  we  should 

1  Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  129,  No.  56. 

2  lin'd.,  Vol.  59,  No.  60. 


1 2  Colonial  Currency 

call  graft  in  the  unwillingness  to  talk  about  the  intended 
disposition  of  these  unassigned  shares  in  the  profits. 

The  Change  Bill  and  the  Bank  Bill  of  Credit 


Doubts  have  been  expressed  as  to  whether  the  change 
bills  of  the  Fund  could  properly  be  styled  bank  bills.  Had 
the  conception  of  the  use  of  a  credit  in  bank,  at  a  distance 
from  the  counter,  so  changed  in  the  intervening  years 
between  1682  and  1686  that  the  promoter  of  the  Bank  of 
1686,1  when  he  speaks  of  emitting  bank  bills,  means  some¬ 
thing  essentially  different  from  the  change  bills  of  the 
Fund  ?  In  seeking  for  an  answer  to  this  question  we  are 
at  first  jnet  with  the  grave  difficulty  that  none  of  the  various 
papers  relating  to  the  bank  contains  a  form  of  the  note 
proposed  to  be  issued.  Precisely,  however,  as  we  were  able 
to  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  nature  of  change  bill  of  the 
Fund  through  the  directions  as  to  its  use  given  by  Wood- 


1  There  may  be  some  doubt  as  to 
whether  this  Bank  should  be  called  the 
Bank  of  1686  or  of  1687.  I  called  it 
the  Bank  of  1686  in  “Currency  and 
Banking  in  the  Province  of  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Bay,”  but  I  am  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  the  date  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion,  1687,  would  really  have  been  a 
better  date  than  that  of  the  authoriza¬ 
tion  by  the  council,  1686.  There  is 
in  the  Massachusetts  Archives  (Vol. 
126,  Nos.  103-107),  a  document  which 
recites  that  the  council  had  referred 
Blackwell’s  proposal  to  a  grand  and 
standing  committee,  which  committee 
had  reported  favorably  and  thereupon, 
on  the  27th  day  of  September,  1686,  a 
draft  of  an  order  was  presented  to  the 
council  granting  certain  concessions, 
which  were  by  the  terms  of  the  order, 
authorized  to  be  engrossed  and  the 
seals  of  the  president  and  council 


affixed  in  the  usual  manner  of  passing 
acts.  It  would  appear  by  the  records 
of  the  council  that  no  action  was  taken 
at  this  time.  The  document  was  merely 
presented  to  the  council  for  considera¬ 
tion  (Proceedings  Massachusetts  His¬ 
torical  Society,  Vol.  XIII,  Second  Ser¬ 
ies,  p.  272),  but  on  the  9th  of  November, 
it  was  formally  ordered  that  “  our  order 
in  answer  to  Capt"  Blackwells  petition 
be  Passed  under  the  Seal  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment.”  (Ibid.,  p.  277.) 

A  document  in  the  Archives  (Vol. 
129,  No.  55),  refers  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  Bank  as  of  date  of  April  25,  1687. 
Another  document  dated  Sept.  1,  1687 
(Ibid.,  Vol.  127,  No.  67),  refers  to  the 
rules  of  the  bank  in  an  indenture  dated 
June  27,  1687.  The  bank  was  therefore 
organized  in  1687. 

For  purposes  of  uniformity  I  adhere 
to  my  former  notation. 


Introduction 


13 

bridge  in  “  Severals  relating  to  the  Fund,”  so  we  may  in  the 
case  of  the  proposed  bank  of  1686  turn  to  a  document 
which  was  found  in  manuscript  among  the  Winthrop  Papers 
and  which  is  entitled  “  A  Discourse  in  explanation  of  the 
Bank  of  Credit,  or  an  account  of  the  model  rules  and 
benefits  of  The  Bank  of  Credit  lumbard,  and  exchange  of 
moneys  proposed  to  be  erected  in  Boston  And  managed  by 
persons  in  partnership,  as  other  merchantly  affayres.  Pub¬ 
lished  by  the  proposers.  Anno  1687,”  for  information  relative 
to  the  conception  of  the  founders  as  to  the  bank  bills  which 
they  proposed  to  emit.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  title- 
page  of  this  document  bears  the  announcement  that  the  Dis¬ 
course  was  “published  by  the  proposers”  in  1687.  If,  by 
publication,  it  was  meant  that  the  Discourse  was  actually 
printed,  it  is  desirable  to  note  that  no  copy  of  the  printed 
pamphlet  has  been  preserved.  It  is  also  a  somewhat  signifi¬ 
cant  fact  that  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  Discourse  is  in 
the  handwriting  of  Captain  John  Blackwell,  who  was  em¬ 
ployed  by  the  managers  of  the  proposed  bank  to  prepare 
such  a  document,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  this  copy  is  the 
one  for  which  in  July,  1688,  Blackwell  demanded  pay  for  “  20s 
disburse  to  a  Clerk  for  writing  out  the  abstracts  of  the  book 
intended  to  be  printed,  besides  what  I  wrote  with  my  own 
hands.”1  The  Discourse  was  obviously  emitted  as  a  sort  of 
prospectus  for  the  proposed  bank.  The  author  says,  “  Bank 
bills  of  Credit  will  not  only  answer  the  ends  of  Gold  and 
Silver  moneys,  but  are  Preferable  to  both.”  These  “  Bank  bills 
of  Credit,  signed  by  severall  persons  of  good  Repute  joyned 
together  in  a  Partnership  ”  are  to  receive  currency  through 
the  agreement  of  “  A  considerable  number  of  Persons,  some 

1  Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  129,  No.  63. 


1 4  Colonial  Currency 

of  each  Trade,  calling  &  condition  to  receive  as  ready  Monys 
of  and  from  each  other  and  any  Psons  in  their  ordinary 
dealings.”  These  “  Bills,  in  a  kinde  of  Circulation,  through 
their  experimented  usefulnes,  become  diffused  by  mutuall 
consent,  passe  from  One  hand  to  another,  and  so  have  (at 
least)  equall  advantages  with  the  Current  moneys  of  the 
Countrey.”  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  writer  of  the 
above  had  some  conception  of  supplanting,  or  at  any  rate 
supplementing  the  coin  in  circulation  with  bank  bills. 

How  far  had  he  proceeded  in  taking  in  the  possibility  of 
a  complete  denominational  paper  currency,  which  should 
represent  the  coinage  of  the  mint  ?  The  discussion  as  to 
the  merits  of  the  bank,  and  the  various  illustrations  given 
by  the  author  of  its  advantages  must  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  did  not  propose  to  emit  bills  below  20s.  in  value. 
The  “  Countrey  Chapman,”  to  quote  from  his  Discourse, 
receives  Bank  Bills  “  of  severall  values  from  20s.  and  so 
upwards.”  The  owner  of  mines  is  supplied  with  “  Credit,  for 
paying  his  workmen  in  any  sum  of  20s  or  above.”  These 
hints  permit  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not  intended  to  emit 
bills  of  a  lower  denomination  than  20s.,  but  it  is  quite  clear 
that  the  idea  of  a  denominational  paper  currency  capable  of 
being  used  in  daily  interchange  in  trade  in  place  of  the 
current  coinage  had,  with  the  limitation  that  small  notes 
were  not  contemplated,  been  evolved. 

When,  therefore,  we  read  in  Blackwell’s  letter  of  a  claim 
for  compensation  for  “  framing  of  the  rolling-press,  etc.,  as 
afterward  in  using  it  for  tryall  of  the  plates  and  printing  off 
some  bills,”  we  must  conclude  that  plates  were  prepared  for 
what  were  probably  entitled  to  be  called  “  Bank  Bills,”  and 
that  they  were  in  denominations  not  less  than  20 s. 


Introduction 


15 


Character  of  Documents  Given  Herein 

The  question  naturally  arises  whether  the  “  Discourse,” 
being  only  known  to  us  in  manuscript,  is  entitled  to  recogni¬ 
tion  in  this  series,  which  purports  to  be  a  set  of  reprints.  It 
is  true,  we  know  it  only  as  a  manuscript  document,  and  there 
is  but  little  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  contemporaneously 
printed.  The  purpose  of  publishing  these  papers  touching 
on  the  currency  discussion  of  the  period  is  to  furnish  our 
libraries  with  copies  of  certain  rare  tracts  and  newspaper 
communications,  to  examine  the  originals  of  all  of  which 
would  demand  that  the  student  should  travel  from  library 
to  library,  between  half  a  dozen  of  our  large  cities  in  the 
East.  The  tracts  selected  for  the  purpose  are  topical,  deal¬ 
ing  exclusively  with  the  attempts  of  individuals  to  furnish  a 
medium  of  trade  through  the  paper  emissions  of  a  bank  or 
with  matters  connected  with  the  struggles  of  the  provincial 
government  during  the  period  when  it  was  engaged  in  fur¬ 
nishing  a  paper  currency  to  the  people,  and  it  is  not  con¬ 
templated  to  enter  the  field  of  unpublished  documents.  The 
Blackwell  proposal,  however,  stands  forth  conspicuously 
marking  an  important  point  in  the  evolution  of  the  concep¬ 
tion  of  a  paper  currency.  Moreover,  it  laid  claim  for  sup¬ 
port  from  the  community  upon  the  credit  of  the  individuals 
who  formed  the  company.  It  had  no  capital.  The  idea  of 
a  stock  company  had  not  been  evolved,  but  there  was  a  dis¬ 
tinct  improvement  in  the  bank  bills  offered  by  Blackwell’s 
proposed  bank  upon  the  credit  offered  by  the  Fund.  The 
bills  not  only  had  the  protection  given  by  the  security  held 
by  the  bank,  but  they  had  behind  them  also  a  company 
“managed  in  partnership,  by  private  hands,  persons  of 


1 6  Colonial  Currency 

known  integrity,  prudence  and  estates,  all  whom  will  be¬ 
come  thereby  lyable  to  answer  the  injury,  damage  or  Losse 
to  any,  of  their  undertaking.”  The  several  attempts  made 
during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  colon¬ 
ists  to  organize  companies  or  banks,  which  should  furnish 
for  general  circulation  a  paper  currency  similar  to  the  bills 
of  public  credit,  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  those 
which  were  founded  like  the  “Fund  Credit”  upon  what¬ 
ever  security  was  lodged  in  the  company,  and  those  which, 
like  Blackwell’s  proposed  bank,  added  thereto  the  respon¬ 
sibility  of  the  individual  merchants  who  had  charge  of  the 
affair.  Even  if  we  were  certain  that  the  statement  “pub¬ 
lished  by  the  Proposers  Anno  1687”  was  an  error,  we  might 
perhaps  feel  compelled  to  include  this  important  document 
in  our  series  as  one  which  was  evidently  prepared  for  the 
press. 


An  Altered  Pamphlet 

In  July,  1688,  Blackwell  wrote  that  the  scheme  had  been 
abandoned.  It  was  in  1688,  also,  that  there  appeared  a 
pamphlet,  bearing  a  London  imprint,  entitled  “  A  Model  for 
Erecting  a  Bank  of  Credit,  with  a  Discourse  in  Explanation 
thereof:  Adapted  to  the  Use  of  any  Trading  Country,  where 
there  is  a  Scarcity  of  Moneys,  More  especially  for  his  Majes¬ 
ties  Plantations  in  America.”  The  appearance  of  this 
pamphlet  apparently  had  to  do  with  the  suppression  of 
Blackwell’s  project.  There  are  three  copies  of  the  “  Model,” 
etc.,  of  London,  1688,  known  to  have  been  preserved,  —  two 
in  Boston  and  one  in  the  British  Museum.  The  original 
pamphlet  was  thirty  pages  in  length.  The  suggested 


Introduction 


1 7 

model  for  a  bank  was  in  substance  the  same  as  that  of 
Blackwell’s  bank,  the  language  used  in  the  pamphlet  and 
the  document  being  so  nearly  identical  as  to  disclose  a  com¬ 
mon  origin  for  both,  although  the  arrangement  of  the  order 
of  the  material  in  the  two  was  somewhat  different.  There 
is,  however,  in  each  of  the  existing  copies  of  the  pamphlet  a 
supplement  eight  pages  in  length,  entitled  “  A  Supplement 
or  Appendix  to  the  Treatise  Entituled  A  Model  for  Erecting 
a  Bank  of  Credit  &c.  or  An  Account  of  Some  of  the  Many 
Prejudices,  that  will  Inevitably  ensue,  as  well  to  His  Majesty 
as  to  his  Subjects,  by  enhancing  the  value  of  Spanish  Coyne 
&c.  above  his  Majesties,  Together  with  the  most  probable 
means  for  Preventing  thereof,  without  damage  to  any,  viz.” 
This  supplement  was  printed  on  paper  of  a  lighter  tint  than 
that  found  in  the  body  of  the  pamphlet ;  the  type  used  was 
defective  and  much  worn ;  and  the  press  work  was  inferior  in 
quality.  The  natural  inference  is  that  the  original  pamphlet 
was  printed  in  London  and  that  the  supplement  was  added 
in  Boston.  Quite  recently  it  was  discovered  that  certain 
leaves  which  apparently  came  from  copies  of  this  pamphlet 
had  been  used  by  binders  of  that  time  as  fly-leaves.  A 
close  examination  of  the  several  copies  of  the  pamphlet  in 
existence  showed  that  in  each  of  them,  pages  seven  and 
eight  and  pages  thirteen  and  fourteen  were  inserts,  printed 
on  paper  of  the  same  quality  and  with  type  corresponding  in 
all  respects  with  that  used  in  the  supplement.  Comparison 
with  a  reprint  of  the  “Model,”  etc.,  in  1714  showed  that 
the  changes  made  in  these  insert  leaves  were  of  minor  im¬ 
portance,  especially  when  one  considers  that  the  Model 
was  a  mere  proposition  for  a  bank,  the  working  plan  of 
which  could  be  altered  at  will,  but  the  discussion  in  the 

VOL.  I  —  2 


1 8  Colonial  Currency 

supplement  points  very  clearly  to  the  fact  that  this  must 
have  been  added  to  the  pamphlet  by  some  person  in  close 
touch  with  Andros.  The  governor  had  arrived  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  in  December,  1686,  and  in  the  spring  of  1687,  after 
prolonged  consideration,  had  issued  an  order  which  was 
closely  connected  with  the  matter  discussed  in  the  inserted 
supplement,  although  not  in  agreement  with  its  doctrines, 
to  the  effect  that  “  the  prsent  New  Engld  mony  do  passe  for 
value  as  formerly.” 

It  is  obvious  from  the  few  records  of  the  period  that  have 
been  preserved  that  Andros  was  opposed  to  the  recognition 
of  the  New  England  coinage,  involved  in  the  above  order. 
He  probably  found  that  the  customs  of  the  country  were 
too  strong  for  him.  The  policy  of  the  English  had  been  to 
keep  their  own  sterling  money  at  home,  and  to  compel  the 
colonies  to  rely  upon  Spanish  silver  and  Portuguese  gold. 
The  selection  of  the  basis  on  which  the  coinage  of  the  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  Mint  was  founded  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
policy  which  sought  to  avoid  dependence  there  upon  sterling 
money,  but  it  was  also  thought  that  by  converting  the  foreign 
coins  into  a  local  coinage  the  new  coins  would  remain  in  the 
country.  The  Massachusetts  Mint  had  then  been  closed  for 
some  years,  and  had  there  been  any  sterling  money  in  circu¬ 
lation,  Andros  might  perhaps  have  forced  its  use  as  a  measure 
of  value,  but  when  it  came  to  regulating  the  value  at  which 
foreign  coins  should  circulate,  he  was  compelled  to  recog¬ 
nize  the  New  England  coinage  for  this  purpose.  This 
was  practically  “  enhancing  the  value  of  Spanish  Coyne  etc. 
above  his  Majesties,”  since  the  nominal  value  of  these  coins 
was  larger  when  stated  in  ■  Massachusetts  shillings  than  it 
was  in  sterling,  and  the  supplement  in  setting  forth  the 


Introduction 


19 

prejudices  that  would  inevitably  ensue  from  this  was  work¬ 
ing  along  the  lines  of  Andros’s  desires.  Simultaneously 
with  the  appearance  of  this  pamphlet,  Blackwell’s  scheme 
was  abandoned. 

If  there  were  some  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  including 
in  this  series  of  reprints  the  “  Discourse,”  etc.,  which  was 
prepared  as  a  prospectus  for  Blackwell’s  proposed  bank,  but 
perhaps  not  then  printed,  there  certainly  can  be  no  other 
conclusion  than  that  the  “  Model,”  etc.,  printed  in  London 
in  1688,  but  carrying  the  two  inserts  and  the  eight-page 
supplement  of  Boston  origin,  is  of  sufficient  interest  to 
entitle  it  to  reproduction  here,  notwithstanding  the  London 
imprint. 

In  1902,  in  the  publication  entitled  “Tracts  relating  to 
the  Currency  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  1682-1720,”  this 
pamphlet  was  not  included.  The  fact  that  at  a  later  period, 
that  is  to  say,  in  1714,  what  purports  to  be  a  reprint  was 
published  in  Boston  —  thus  compelling  its  reproduction  — 
seemed  to  relieve  the  compiler  from  the  necessity  of  any 
consideration  of  the  original.  The  comparison  of  the 
original  and  the  reprint  then  made,  while  it  showed  that  for 
several  pages  the  two  were  identical,  was  carried  far  enough 
to  establish  differences  of  press  composition  in  the  two 
editions,  but  not  far  enough  to  disclose  the  inserts  and  the 
supplement.  The  objection  that  much  of  the  matter  in  the 
original  will  be  duplicated  in  the  republication  of  the  later 
pamphlet  is  of  no  force  with  us  in  this  series.  In  fact,  the 
tracing  of  the  use  from  time  to  time  of  this  model  by  the 
various  men  of  speculative  temperament  who  were  seeking 
to  establish  in  the  province  private  banks  of  issue,  is  in 
itself  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  student,  and  now  that 


20 


Colonial  Currency 

we  can  inferentially  connect  the  “  Model  ”  in  the  form  in 
which  it  is  to  be  found  to-day  with  the  proposed  experi¬ 
ment  of  1686,  we  are  compelled  to  reprint  the  pamphlet 
in  its  place  in  chronological  sequence. 

Governor  Hutchinson  refers  in  his  History  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  to  a  pamphlet  containing  a  project  for  a  private 
bank,1  which  he  says  was  published  in  London  in  1684. 
It  is  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  had  in  mind  the 
publication  which  bears  the  date  1688  upon  its  imprint. 
In  commenting  upon  the  probability  that  there  was  in 
fact  but  one  of  these  pamphlets,  I  stated  in  “  Currency 
and  Banking  in  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Vol.  II.  Banking,”  that  the  identity  of  the  language  used  in 
the  scheme  found  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives  with  that 
used  in  the  pamphlet  of  1688  showed  that  a  copy  of  the 
publication  must  have  been  in  the  hands  of  the  framers  of 
the  scheme.  Perhaps  a  sounder  conclusion  would  have 
been  that  the  manuscript  from  which  the  pamphlet  was 
printed  in  London  in  1688,  or  a  duplicate  copy  of  it  was 
in  1686  in  the  hands  of  Blackwell  and  his  associates.  The 
suggestion  was  made  by  me  in  “Was  it  Andros?”  that 
the  presence  of  this  scheme  in  the  Winthrop  Papers  justi¬ 
fies  the  suggestion  that  it  might  have  been  modelled  upon 
the  one  which  was  prepared  by  Governor  Winthrop  of  Con¬ 
necticut  in  1663.  It  is  not  probable  that  any  person  could 
in  1663  have  conceived  of  a  denominational  paper  money 
which  should  serve  the  purpose  of  a  circulating  medium. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  it  is  not  probable  that  we  have 

1  Another  party  was  very  numer-  published  in  London,  in  the  year  1684. 
ous.  These  had  projected  a  private  (History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  II, 
bank,  or  rather  had  taken  up  a  project  p.  188.) 


Introduction 


2 1 

before  us  Governor  Winthrop’s  plan  in  the  form  in  which 
it  was  submitted  to  the  Royal  Society,  but  it  is  quite  possi¬ 
ble  that  from  that  scheme  was  worked  out  the  “  Discourse,” 
etc.,  of  Blackwell  in  1686,  which  in  substantially  the  same 
form  appeared  in  London  as  the  “  Model,”  etc.,  in  1688. 


Colony  Bills  of  Public  Credit 

Following  the  abortive  attempt  in  1686  to  organize  a 
private  bank  which  should  emit  bills  which  might  pass 
current  as  money  came  the  emission,  in  December,  1690,  of 
bills  of  public  credit  by  the  provisional  government  which 
assumed  control  of  affairs  after  the  arrest  of  Andros  and  the 
overthrow  of  his  regime.  The  circumstances  under  which 
this  emission  took  place  were  briefly  as  follows :  A  military 
and  naval  expedition  had  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
capturing  Quebec.  That  place  was  known  at  that  time  to 
be  but  feebly  garrisoned,  and  if , after  the  evolution  of  the 
plan  of  capture  the  expedition  could  have  been  promptly 
despatched,  the  success  of  the  enterprise  would  have  been 
assured.  As  it  was,  however,  there  was  so  much  delay  in 
starting  that  news  of  the  contemplated  invasion  reached 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  reinforcements  were  despatched 
to  Quebec..  This  was  made  possible  by  the  failure  of  a 
cooperating  land  expedition  to  threaten  Montreal,  as  was 
agreed,  at  the  same  time  that  Phips  attacked  Quebec.  The 
troops  of  Frontenac,  being  thus  released  from  service  at 
Montreal  were  hurried  to  Quebec.  Moreover,  the  delays  so 
shortened  the  period  during  which  the  fleet  could  operate 
that  when  failure  came  the  time  was  near  at  hand  when  the 
colonial  fleet  could  no  longer  remain  in  the  St.  Lawrence 


2  2  Colonial  Currency 

without  fear  of  being  frozen  in.  The  effectiveness  of  the 
force,  now  that  it  was  brought  face  to  face  with  a  problem 
far  greater  than  had  been  originally  contemplated,  was  still 
further  reduced  by  this  fact.  The  total  failure  of  the  expe¬ 
dition  itself  and  the  inability  of  reinforcements  reaching 
the  troops  before  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to  get  out  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  if  they  were  to  get  out  at  all  that  winter, 
sent  the  expedition  back  to  Boston  and  brought  the  govern¬ 
ment  in  immediate  contact  with  the  great  responsibilities 
which  they  had  assumed.  Not  a  pound  of  the  supplies  fur¬ 
nished  the  expedition  had  been  paid  for.  No  provision 
whatever  had  been  made  for  the  adjustment  of  the  charters 
of  the  vessels  which  transported  the  sailors  and  soldiers  to 
Quebec.  The  salaries  of  the  officers  and  men  were  still  to 
be  provided  for.  The  raid  had  been  planned  and  carried 
out  in  the  confident  expectation  that  the  fleet  would  bring 
back  from  Quebec  plunder  which  would  be  adequate  to 
meet  the  greater  part  if  not  all  of  these  expenses. 

Hutchinson  says,  “  The  government  were  utterly  unpre¬ 
pared  for  the  return  of  the  forces.  They  seem  to  have  pre¬ 
sumed  not  only  upon  success,  but  upon  the  enemy’s  treasure 
to  bear  the  charge  of  the  expedition.  The  soldiers  were 
upon  the  point  of  mutiny  for  want  of  their  wages.  It  was 
utterly  impracticable  to  raise  in  a  few  days  such  a  sum  of 
money  as  would  be  necessary.” 1 

Very  shortly  before  the  return  of  Sir  William  Phips  bear¬ 
ing  the  news  of  his  disastrous  failure,  an  attempt  was  made 
by  the  government  to  secure  a  loan  of  “  three  or  four  thou¬ 
sand  pounds,”  for  the  purpose  of  paying  off  the  seamen  and 
soldiers  of  the  expedition  and  for  other  emergencies  of  the 

1  History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  I,  p.  356. 


Introduction 


23 


public  credit.  It  was  proposed  to  pledge  as  security  for  the 
loan  “  half  the  publique  Rates  now  agreed  to  be  made  & 
Levyed,  and  the  Country’s  part  of  all  such  Plunder  as  they 
shall  recover  from  the  Enemy  at  Canada  &ra  and  bring 
home  with  them.”  The  government  then  in  existence  was 
but  a  de  facto  government,  the  several  officers  having  been 
originally  elected  under  the  charter  which  had  been  subse¬ 
quently  annulled.  They  had  resumed  office  when  Andros 
was  deposed,  and  while  it  may  possibly  be  that  the  govern¬ 
ment  had  some  credit  among  the  Boston  merchants,  it  must 
clearly  have  been  at  a  disadvantage  in  appealing  to  them  as 
a  heavy  borrower.  Whatever  the  causes  were  which  pre¬ 
vented  the  consummation  of  the  loan,  the  plans  of  the 
committee  having  the  matter  in  charge  were  upset  by  the 
arrival  of  Sir  William  Phips  with  his  story  of  dismaP failure. 
There  was  not  only  no  plunder  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
expedition,  but  there  were  losses  to  be  added  to  those  obliga¬ 
tions  of  the  colony  which  were  already  known  and  recognized. 
Phips  arrived  in  Boston  on  the  nineteenth  of  November, 
and  at  the  session  of  the  Court  which  was  sitting  by  adjourn¬ 
ment  December  10,  the  proposed  remedy  for  the  disastrous 
situation  was  submitted.  Notwithstanding  the  poverty  and 
calamities  of  the  country,  and  in  spite  of  the  scarcity  of 
money  and  the  want  of  an  adequate  measure  of  commerce, 
the  colony  announced  that  it  was  willing  to  settle  and  adjust 
its  debts  and  to  pay  the  same  with  what  speed  the  same 
could  be  done.  As  a  means  of  accomplishing  this  it  was  pro¬ 
posed  to  grant  forth  printed  bills  in  an  agreed  form,  none  to 
be  under  five  shillings  and  no  one  bill  to  be  larger  than  five 
pounds,  to  creditors  willing  to  accept  them  in  settlement  of 
their  debts.  Such  bills  were  to  be  in  value  equal  to  money 


24 


Colonial  Currency 

and  were  to  be  so  received  by  the  treasurer  and  his  sub¬ 
ordinates  in  all  public  payments.  Any  person  having  any 
of  the  bills  in  his  hands  might  present  them  to  the  treasurer 
at  any  time  and  receive  in  exchange  the  full  sum  of  their 
expressed  value,  in  money,  or  in  other  public  stock  at  its 
money  value.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  was  known 
that  the  impending  obligations  of  the  government  were  rec¬ 
ognized  as  being  nearly  ^40,000,  the  proposition  to  emit 
bills  enough  to  care  for  these  liabilities  was  hampered  in 
execution  by  limiting  the  amount  of  the  original  emission 
to  £7000. 

The  agreed  form  of  the  bill  was  in  effect  a  certificate 
that  the  denominational  amount  for  which  it  was  issued  was 
due  from  the  colony  to  the  possessor  of  the  bill,  and  that 
the  bill  itself  was  in  value  equal  to  money,  and  would  be 
so  received  by  the  treasurer  and  his  subordinates  in  all 
public  payments  and  for  any  stock  at  any  time  in  the 
treasury.  This  bill  was  practically  well  adapted  for  its  pur¬ 
pose,  and  the  form  was  continuously  used  without  change 
up  to  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  new-tenor  form  of 
1737- 


Canadian  Card  Money 

It  would  be  extremely  interesting  to  lay  open  the  process 
of  evolution  through  which  the  form  of  the  colony  bill  was 
developed,  but  at  present  at  least  we  can  only  indulge  in 
conjecture.  We  have  seen  that  the  language  used  in  the 
scheme  of  the  Bank  of  1686  compels  the  belief  that  the  pro¬ 
jectors  of  that  scheme  had  in  mind  some  form  of  note  or 
bill  for  circulation  as  money.  Curiously  enough,  in  1685, 


Introduction 


25 


an  experiment  was  made  at  Quebec  by  the  Intendant  then 
in  office,  the  local  success  of  which  led  to  the  adoption  of 
what  is  known  in  Canadian  history  as  card  money.  Park- 
man  says  in  the  Old  Regime  that  Meules,  the  Intendant, 
being  short  of  money,  cut  some  playing  cards  into  four 
parts,  marked  them  with  denominational  values,  and  put 
them  in  circulation.  A  copy  of  the  letter  of  Meules  to  the 
Minister,  dated  September  24,  1685,  in  which  he  describes 
his  original  experiment,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Parkman 
manuscripts,  at  the  rooms  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society.  Meules  states  that  for  eight  months  he  was  with¬ 
out  remittances  from  Paris.  During  this  time  he  exhausted 
not  only  his  own  resources  but  also  those  of  his  friends, 
until  finally,  being  at  his  wit’s  end  for  the  means  of  paying 
the  wages  of  his  men  and  providing  for  their  support,  it 
occurred  to  him  to  give  currency  to  card  bills  in  lieu  of 
silver  money.  “Je  me  suis  imagine,”  he  says,  “de  donner 
cours,  au  lieu  d’argent,  a  des  billets  de  Cartes  que  j’avais 
fait  couper  en  quatre,  je  vous  envoye,  Monseigneur  des  trois 
especes,  l’une  estait  de  quatre  francs;  l’autre  de  quarante 
sols,  et  la  troisieme  de  quinze  sols,  parce  que  avec  ces  trois 
especes  je  pouvais  faire  leur  solde  juste  d’un  mois.”  He 
then  goes  on  to  say  that  he  issued  an  order  to  the  habitants 
to  receive  this  money  in  payment  and  to  give  it  currency, 
obliging  himself  to  redeem  it.  The  experiment  was  success¬ 
ful  and  effected  temporary  relief.  Moreover,  he  was  able  to 
state  later  on  that  with  money  received  from  France  he 
had  redeemed  the  outstanding  cards.  This  was  the  origin 
of  the  Canadian  card  money.  The  success  of  the  tem¬ 
porary  expedient  then  resorted  to  led  to  the  adoption  of 
the  same  method  whenever  it  became  necessary  to  supply 


26 


Colonial  Currency 

the  local  government  with  resources.  The  playing  cards 
gave  place  to  plain  cards  bearing  the  signatures  of  the  gov¬ 
ernor  and  intendant ;  the  countersign  of  a  clerk ;  a  denomi¬ 
national  value ;  a  year  date,  and  stamps  of  the  arms  of 
France  and  Navarre,  and  in  this  form  these  card  tokens 
freely  circulated  as  money. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Meules’s  temporary  expedient 
was  put  in  force  before  the  Bank  of  1686  was  organized. 
Was  it  possible  that  some  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on 
at  Quebec  found  its  way  to  Boston  at  that  time  ?  If  so,  did 
its  influence  reach  Blackwell  when  he  was  at  work  on  his 
proposed  bank  ?  Or,  again,  did  the  Phips  expedition  bring 
back  with  it  to  Boston,  in  place  of  the  expected  plunder, 
some  hint  of  the  great  possibilities  of  a  paper  currency, 
gathered  from  the  card  money  evolved  by  Intendant  Meules? 
These  suggestions  must  naturally  occur  to  one  who  compares 
the  date  of  the  Quebec  experiment  with  the  date  of  Black¬ 
well’s  proposed  bank  and  with  that  of  the  original  emission 
of  colonial  currency,  but  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that 
the  first  of  these  conjectures  was  almost  impossible,  and  if 
that  be  so,  the  second  is  of  little  consequence  since  the 
emission  of  paper  money  was  involved  in  the  Bank  of  1686, 
although  it  will  be  seen  later  on  that  the  Canadian  experience 
furnished  arguments  to  controversialists. 


Amount  of  Colony  Bills  Emitted 

In  February,  1691,  it  was  frankly  acknowledged  that  the 
seven  thousand  pounds  of  bills  of  credit  which  were  author¬ 
ized  to  be  issued  by  the  colonial  government  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  Bay  fell  “far  short  of  what  is  absolutely  necessary.”  All 


Introduction 


2  7 


restraints  were  then  thrown  down  and  the  committee  having 
charge  of  the  adjustment  of  the  debts  incurred  on  account 
of  the  Quebec  expedition  was  authorized  to  settle  all  properly 
certified  claims  with  bills  of  credit,  no  one  of  which  was  to 
be  issued  for  a  sum  less  than  two  shillings,  nor  were  any  to 
be  for  a  greater  sum  than  ten  pounds.  These  bills  were  put 
upon  the  same  basis  as  the  former  emission,  but  to  encourage 
their  circulation  the  treasurer  was  instructed  to  give  credit 
for  five  per  cent,  above  the  denominational  value  on  all  pay¬ 
ments  made  to  him  in  bills  of  public  credit.  On  the  twenty- 
first  of  May,  1691,  a  limit  of  £40,000  was  set  for  the 
emission  of  these  bills,  it  being  stated  in  the  order  imposing 
this  limit  that  this  amount  would  be  enough  for  the  adjust¬ 
ment  of  the  debts  incurred  by  the  colony.  Provision  was 
made  for  calling  in  this  £40,000  by  taxes  in  the  years  1692 
and  1693  and  the  provincial  government  which  came  in 
power  in  1692,  had,  in  consequence,  under  its  control 
,£40,000  of  these  bills,  the  use  of  which  as  currency  was  con¬ 
tinued  until  their  condition  became  such  that  it  was  im¬ 
perative  to  provide  new  bills.  Such  of  these  bills  as  were 
employed  in  this  way  by  the  province  bore  the  endorsement 
of  the  province  treasurer  on  the  back  of  the  bill.  In  1702, 
when,  in  consequence  of  the  dilapidation  of  the  bills  in 
circulation,  it  became  necessary  either  to  abandon  bills  of 
credit  or  emit  new  bills,  it  was  contemplated  at  first  to 
print  a  supply  from  the  old  plates,  and  thus  continue  the 
use  of  the  colony  bills  in  this  manner.  This  proposition 
was,  however,  soon  abandoned.  A  new  set  of  plates  was 
prepared  in  which  the  word  “  Province  ”  took  the  place  of 
the  word  “  Colony,”  and  the  old  bills  were  thereafter  desig¬ 
nated  as  “  Colony  ”  or  “  Old  Charter  ”  bills. 


28 


Colonial  Currency 


Some  Considerations  on  the  Bills  of  Credit,  etc. 

The  five  per  cent,  allowance  made  by  the  government  on 
payments  made  in  those  bills  is  sufficient  indication  of  the 
hesitation  of  the  public  to  adopt  them  as  the  medium  of 
trade,  but  we  have  other  evidence  of  the  reluctance  of  the 
people  to  receive  them  in  place  of  the  silver  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed.  There  were  two  brief  pamphlets 
published  in  1691,  with  continuous  pagination,  the  two 
together  covering  only  twenty-three  pages.  Their  mutual 
purpose  was  to  convince  the  public  of  the  value  of  the  bills 
as  a  circulating  medium,  and  of  the  great  discredit  to  the 
people  of  the  colony,  that  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the 
Quebec  expedition  should  be  paid  in  a  currency  which, 
through  the  alleged  delinquency  of  the  people,  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  circulate  at  a  discount.  The  first  of  these 
pamphlets  was  entitled,  “  Some  considerations  on  the  bills 
of  credit  now  passing  in  New  England,  addressed  unto  the 
worshipful  John  Philips,  Esq.  etc.”  The  second  bore  the  title, 
“  Some  additional  considerations  addressed  unto  the  worship¬ 
ful  Elisha  Hutchinson,  Esq.  by  a  gentleman  that  had  not 
seen  the  foregoing  letter.”  With  all  the  differences  of 
the  styles  of  the  two  writers  there  is  a  curious  similarity 
in  their  appeals  to  the  public  to  support  the  bills  of 
credit. 

The  author  of  “  Some  considerations,”  etc.,  asserts  that  in¬ 
dividual  credits  had  been  made  use  of  as  currency,  and  asks 
if  the  credit  of  the  government  is  not  better.  “  ’Tis  strange,” 
he  says,  “  that  one  Gentlemans  Bills  at  Port-Royal  for  divers 
years,  and  that  among  Forreigners  ;  or  another  Gentlemans 
Bills  in  the  Western  Parts  for  as  many  or  more  years  should 


Introduction 


29 

gain  so  much  Credit  as  to  be  current  pay  among  the  Traders 
in  those  places ;  yea,  that  the  Bill  (as  I  have  heard)  of  any 
one  Magistrate  in  the  Western  English  Plantation ,  shall  buy 
any  Commodities  of  any  of  the  Planters ;  and  yet  our  people 
(in  this  pure  air)  be  so  sottish  as  to  deny  Credit  to  the 
Government,  when  ’tis  of  their  own  Chusing ?  etc. 

He  alludes  to  the  discount  at  which  the  bills  passed 
current  in  the  following  terms :  “  There  is  indeed  a  way 
found  out  by  the  poor  mens  Necessities  to  make  the  Bills 
passant :  namely  by  Selling  them  at  Under-rates .  Thus  the 
poor  Soldier  is  horribly  injured,  who  have  adventured  their 
Lives  in  the  publick  Service,  and  the  Government  made 
contemptible  as  not  worthy  to  be  trusted.” 

He  compares  the  facility  with  which  the  French  authorities 
at  Canada  secured  the  circulation  of  their  card  money  with 
the  reluctance  encountered  by  the  colonial  government  in 
Massachusetts  when  they  undertook  to  do  the  same  thing, 
and  stamps  this  hesitation  as  showing  the  intellectual 
inferiority  of  the  New  England  people  to  the  French.  His 
words  are  “  The  French  (I  hear)  at  Canada  pass  such  Paper 
mony  without  the  least  scruple ;  whereby  the  Government 
is  greatly  Fortified,  since  they  can  at  all  times  make  what 
they  need.  Now  if  we  account  ourselves  to  Transcend  the 
French  in  Courage  ’Tis  a  shame  for  us  to  come  so  far  short 
of  them  in  Wit  and  Under  standing?  He  refers  to  the 
provisional  character  of  the  then  existing  government  when 
he  describes  it  in  the  paragraph  first  above  quoted,  as  “  one 
of  their  own  Chusing? 

The  author  of  “  Some  additional  considerations,”  etc.,  dis¬ 
tinctly  recognizes  the  financial  disability  imposed  upon  the 
government  by  its  origin.  “  If  any  plead,”  he  says,  “  we 


30  Colonial  Currency 

have  no  Government ,  and  so  have  no  power  to  raise  mony ; 
pray  let  them  call  to  mind  that  all  the  subsidies  now  raised 
in  England  are  by  an  Assembly  chosen  by  the  Corporation 
no  otherwise  restored  than  ours.”  Referring  to  the  circula¬ 
tion  of  private  bills,  he  says,  “  How  many  Credible  Merchants 
are  there,  whose  Bills  do  Pass  as  ready  mony ,  with  hundreds 
of  People  with  whom  they  have  had  no  immediate  Concern¬ 
ment  ?  And  shall  not  the  Government  of  this  Colony  have 
much  Credit  with  a  people  that  choose  all,  and  make  part  of 
it?  ”  He  attacks  those  who  “  Squeese  the  first  Receivers  of 
these  Bills,  by  forcing  them  to  abate  of  their  just  value.” 
For  such  to  take  advantage  of  the  five  per  cent,  allowance 
at  the  treasury  “  is  a  crying  opresion  ”  which  he  would 
remedy  by  advancing  “  the  Rates  of  such  people  to  procure 
a  Reparation  to  them  that  have  been  wronged.  It  will 
speak  ill  for  New-England,  that  poor  Soldiers  and  Seamen 
should  be  cheated  by  any  of  the  Inhabitants,  and  no  Restraint 
put  upon  them,  no  Redress  required  where  it  may  be  done/’ 
“  It  is  a  common  thing,”  he  says,  “  for  the  government  at 
Quebeck  to  pay  their  men  in  such  ways,  &  the  Inhabitants 
there  are  not  so  dishonest  as  to  cheat  the  needy  persons 
to  whom  the  Bills  were  first  given,  of  half  the  worth  of 
them.”  It  will  be  seen  from  these  quotations  that  both 
writers  refer  to  the  circulation  of  notes  of  private  individuals; 
to  the  somewhat  doubtful  standing  of  the  government  as 
a  borrowing  power;  to  the  discount  at  which  the  notes 
circulated ;  and  to  the  facility  with  which  the  Intendant  at 
Quebec  floated  his  card  money. 

The  reluctance  of  the  people  to  receive  the  bills  was 
soon  overcome,  and  the  discount  of  which  the  writers 
complained  disappeared.  Doubtless  the  ultimate  credit  of 


Introduction 


3i 


the  bills  was  more  firmly  based  upon  the  fact  that  pro¬ 
vision  was  made  for  their  prompt  retirement,  than  upon 
arguments  or  appeals  from  patriots.  Moreover,  the  five 
per  cent,  allowance  made  by  the  government  must  have 
had  influence  at  first.  ,  The  necessity  for  this  soon  ceased, 
and  the  bills  circulated  freely  at  par,  but  the  province  was 
not  able  to  get  rid  of  this  allowance  until  1720. 


The  Province  Bills  and  the  Funds  for  Calling  them  in 

The  experience  of  the  colony  in  1691,  in  relieving  itself 
through  the  agency  of  the  bills  of  public  credit  from  a  finan¬ 
cial  emergency  of  such  magnitude,  and  the  advantage  taken 
by  the  province  of  the  colony  bills  in  the  treasury,  to  meet 
current  expenses  with  them,  passing  on  to  a  future  year  the 
taxation  which  should  provide  for  their  recall  to  the  treasury, 
soon  brought  to  the  appreciation  of  the  assembly  the  fact 
that  all  current  expenses  could  be  met  by  the  emission  of 
bills  of  public  credit.  True,  the  recall  of  those  bills  had  to 
be  provided  for  in  the  future,  but  at  any  rate  a  postponement 
of  taxation  could  be  secured  and  the  province  could  be  per¬ 
manently  relieved  from  the  payment  of  its  debts,  to  the 
extent  of  the  amount  of  bills  that  could  be  kept  in  circula¬ 
tion.  It  became,  therefore,  the  practice  to  meet  all  public 
payments  by  emissions  by  the  province  of  bills  of  public 
credit,  and  accompanying  each  emission  was  a  pledge  of  the 
government  that  the  bills  then  emitted  should  be  called  in 
by  taxation  at  a  specified  future  date.  These  pledges  that 
the  bills  should  be  thus  called  in  were  termed  “  Funds,”  and 
the  bills  thus  emitted  were  supposed  to  be  secured  by  the 


32 


Colonial  Currency 

Tax  Fund  established,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say 
promised,  at  the  date  of  emission.  At  first  these  Funds 
were  provided  in  the  near  future,  but  as  time  went  on  the 
designated  tax  levies  through  which  the  bills  should  be 
returned  to  the  treasury  were  set  further  ahead.  By  1714 
the  income  from  the  province  from  taxation  was  pledged, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  for  six  years,  so  that  the  issue  then 
made  was  not  to  be  called  in  by  taxation  until  1720.  The 
process  of  postponing  the  day  when  the  tax  should  be  levied 
had  been  gradual  and  progressive.  The  tax  through  which 
the  bills  emitted  in  1702  were  to  be  called  in  was  ordered  to 
be  laid  in  1703.  In  1704,  the  retirement  of  a  part  of  the 
issue  was  carried  forward  to  two  years.  In  1707,  the  time 
was  lengthened  to  three  years.  In  1709,  a  part  of  the  issues 
was  not  to  be  provided  for  until  five  years.  In  1 71 1,  the  limit 
reached  six  years.  In  this  manner  the  dates  for  levying  the 
taxes  which  were  to  retire  the  bills  were  from  time  to  time 
set  at  a  further  date  ahead,  until  1722,  when  this  evil  habit 
reached  its  maximum  development  and  there  was  an  emis¬ 
sion  for  which  no  provision  was  to  be  made  until  the  tax 
levy  thirteen  years  thereafter.  Then  for  a  time  strenuous 
efforts  were  made  to  curtail  the  periods  of  the  Funds,  but 
the  tendency  towards  their  prolongation  continued  to  betray 
itself. 


New  England  Coinage 

The  English  mint  price  for  silver  at  this  period  was 
5 3-.  2 d.  per  ounce.  This  quotation  is  in  sterling.  At  that 
time  nearly  every  American  colony  had  a  shilling  of  its  own. 
The  New  England  shilling,  six  to  a  dollar,  is  fresh  in 


Introduction 


33 


the  memory  of  living  men.1  The  New  York  shilling,  eight 
to  a  dollar,  was  in  general  use  down  to  the  time  of  the  Civil 
War.  In  1704,  Queen  Anne  issued  a  proclamation  by 
means  of  which  she  sought  to  make  uniform  the  currencies 
of  the  different  colonies.  The  piece  of  eight,  if  of  17!  dwt., 
was  to  pass  in  all  the  colonies  at  6s.  This  was  based  upon 
the  New  England  coinage.  The  situation  in  Massachu¬ 
setts  was  at  this  time  complicated  by  the  action  of  the 
assembly  in  enacting  that  the  piece  of  eight,  weighing  1 7 
dwt.,  should  pass  current  for  6^.,  the  term  lawful  money 
being  applied  to  the  currency  based  upon  this  valuation, 
while  the  nominal  measure  of  values  based  upon  the  valua¬ 
tion  of  6s.  for  the  piece  of  eight  of  1 7 J  dwt.  was  termed 
proclamation  money.  The  ounce  of  silver  being  worth 
5$.  2 d.  in  sterling,  the  corresponding  value  in  the  coinage  of 
the  Massachusetts  Mint  was  very  nearly  7 s.  Roughly 
speaking,  it  will  do  to  say  that  it  was  js.,  although  all  the 
provincial  legislation  of  the  period  was  framed  upon  the 
theory  that  the  proper  quotation  for  silver  in  New  England 
money  was  6s.  8d.  an  ounce.  The  knowledge  of  these 
facts  is  not  essential,  perhaps,  for  the  understanding  of  an 
abridged  review  of  the  currency  episode  of  that  period,  but 
it  is  of  importance  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  pounds,  shil¬ 
lings,  and  pence  in  use  in  New  England  at  that  time  were 
those  of  the  New  England  coinage.  To  convert  values 
expressed  in  New  England  currency  into  sterling,  the  num¬ 
ber  of  shillings  should  be  reduced  25  per  cent.  To  convert 

1  I  mean  by  this  that  there  are  men  sheets  issued  by  the  Boston  News 
living  who  remember  when  ordinary  Bureau  we  find  to-day  such  a  state- 
tradesmen  still  made  use  of  this  cur-  ment  as  the  following :  New  York  funds 
rency  in  quoting  prices.  My  attention  sold  at  a  shilling  discount  for  cash, 
has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  in  the 
vol.  1  —  3 


34  Colonial  Currency 

\ 

sterling  into  New  England  currency,  the  number  of  shillings 
should  be  increased  33  per  cent.  This  adoption  of  a  lower 
value  for  the  shilling  than  sterling  was  effected  by  the  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  legislators  in  the  belief  that  a  coinage  on  this 
basis  must  stay  in  the  colony.  While  this  purpose  was  not 
accomplished,  since  the  New  England  coins  were  exported 
at  their  bullion  value,  still  it  did  revolutionize  the  measure  of 
values  in  the  New  England  colonies,  and  for  this  purpose 
entirely  supplanted  sterling  money. 


Silver  Disappears 

There  was  in  circulation  in  New  England,  when  the 
paper  money  was  launched,  an  amount  of  silver  which  has 
been  estimated  at  £200,000.  That  this  estimate  was  ap¬ 
proximately  correct  is  shown  by  the  ease  with  which  about 
fifty  years  later  specie  payments  were  resumed  with  about 
,£234,000  in  coin.  By  1714,  the  amount  of  bills  of  public 
credit  which  had  been  emitted  and  still  remained  in  circu¬ 
lation  was  estimated  by  Paul  Dudley  at  £*240,000,  and 
these  bills  constituted  the  circulating  medium  of  the  prov¬ 
ince,  the  silver  itself  having  nearly  all  disappeared  from 
circulation.  The  recognition  of  the  decrease  of  the  silver 
then  in  circulation  may  be  traced  to  a  second  expedition,  in 
1 71 1,  against  Quebec.  This  was  organized  under  General 
Hill  and  Admiral  Walker,  English  officers,  and  met  with 
a  second  failure.  The  expenses  of  this  expedition  were 
settled  by  sterling  drafts  on  London,  but  to  enable  the 
Boston  merchants  to  carry  these  drafts  until  they  should 
be  paid,  £50,000  in  bills  of  public  credit  were  emitted,  and 


Introduction 


35 


loaned  to  the  merchants,  on  time,  with  interest.  The  effects 
of  this  emission  are  stated  by  a  contemporary  writer  to  have 
been  “  that  silver  began  to  be  hoarded  by  some,  and  ex¬ 
ported  by  others  in  large  quantities  and  the  bills  became 
the  only  measure  and  instrument  by  which  all  private 
trade  and  doings  were  regulated  and  managed.”  The 
price  of  silver  under  the  influence  of  the  hoarding  and 
exportation  had  risen  from  7 s.  to  9 s.  per  ounce,  an  advance 
of  nearly  30  per  cent.  If  this  rise  was  caused  exclusively 
by  the  increase  of  the  circulating  medium,  it  would  seem 
to  have  been  abnormally  high.  We  must,  however,  give 
credit  to  the  influence  of  the  bills  of  public  credit  of  the 
other  New  England  colonies  which  freely  circulated  at 
that  time  side  by  side  with  the  Massachusetts  bills  on  a 
par  with  them,  notwithstanding  the  advantage  possessed 
by  the  latter  in  their  recently  acquired  legal  tender  func¬ 
tion,  and  in  the  attribute  which  they  possessed  of  being 
receivable  by  the  treasurer  for  all  payments  to  the  govern¬ 
ment.  We  have  no  means  of  estimating  the  contributory 
effect  of  these  outside  bills  on  the  price  of  silver,  but  the 
fact  that  they  circulated  freely  in  Massachusetts  is  vouched 
for  by  contemporary  writers,  and  to  the  extent  that  they 
swelled  the  amount  of  currency  in  circulation,  they  must 
have  affected  prices. 

The  depreciation  of  the  currency  which  can,  perhaps,  be 
best  measured  in  the  increasing  price  of  the  ounce  of  silver, 
had  by  1714,  reached  such  a  point  that  the  decreased  pur¬ 
chasing  power  of  the  bills  of  credit  and  the  impending  with¬ 
drawal  of  large  sums  from  circulation  through  the  payments 
to  the  government  of  the  loan  to  the  Boston  merchants, 
produced  an  impression  on  the  public  of  there  being  a 


3  6  Colonial  Currency 

shortage  in  the  circulating  medium,  and  from  all  sides 
there  arose  a  demand  for  relief  through  the  emission  of 
more  bills.  There  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  how 
this  should  be  done,  and  Boston  was  divided  into  two 
factions,  the  one  favoring  the  establishment  of  a  bank  of 
credit,  similar  to  the  proposed  bank  of  1686,  and  the 
other  contending  that  it  was  the  function  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  to  furnish  the  circulating  medium.  In  order  to  bring 
it  within  the  power  of  the  government  to  do  this,  there 
being  no  outstanding  obligations  to  settle,  it  was  proposed 
that  an  emission  of  bills  of  public  credit  should  be  made 
which  should  be  loaned  at  interest  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
province. 


The  Public  Bank  and  the  Private  Bank 

The  originators  of  the  scheme  to  relieve  the  province 
from  what  was  termed  “a  sensible  decay  of  Trade  within 
His  Majesties  Plantations  in  New-England,  for  want  of  a 
Medium  of  Exchange,  wherewith  to  carry  on  the  same ;  the 
Running  Cash  being  Exported,  and  considerable  Sums  of 
the  Bills  of  Credit  put  forth  by  the  Government,  which  had 
their  Circulation  and  supported  the  Trade  being  already 
drawn  in,”  etc.,  would  appear  to  have  been  the  projectors  of 
a  bank  of  credit  to  be  managed  by  private  citizens.  The 
proposition  to  loan  bills  of  public  credit  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  province,  this  being  what  was  then  termed  the  public  bank, 
was  evidently  an  after-thought  which  was  originated  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  promoters  of  the  private 
bank  of  credit.  As  the  disputants  lined  up  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other  of  the  question,  they  became  known  as  advocates 


Introduction 


37 


of  the  public  bank  or  the  private  bank,  as  the  case  might  be, 
and  the  conflict  which  raged  among  the  people  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  assembly,  was  taken  up  by  the  press,  and  finally 
found  refuge  among  the  pamphleteers. 

The  advocates  of  the  private  bank  introduced  the  subject 
by  reprinting  “  A  Model  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit  with 
a  discourse  in  explanation  thereof,”  which  was  originally 
published  in  London  in  1688.  To  the  statement  which 
appeared  on  the  title  page,  “  London  Printed  in  the  Year, 
1688”  was  added  in  the  new  title  page,  “Reprinted  at 
Boston  in  New-England  in  the  Year,  1714.”  The  pamphlet 
was  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  original,  having  the  same 
pagination,  the  same  catch  words  at  the  bottom  of  the  page, 
and  with  page  after  page  in  which  there  was  no  variation  of 
the  words  composing  the  several  lines.  The  type  was  either 
from  the  same  font  as  that  from  which  the  original  was 
composed,  or  it  was  cast  from  the  same  pattern.  Close 
scrutiny  can  detect  minor  changes  in  the  press  composi¬ 
tion,  but  at  first  glance  one  would  be  inclined  to  say 
that  the  so-called  reprint  was,  in  fact,  the  original.  Such, 
however,  was  not  the  case.  The  pamphlet  was  simply  a 
faithful  reproduction  of  the  original,  thus  affording  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  comparison  with  the  altered  pages  in  the  copies 
of  the  1688  edition  which  have  been  preserved,  and  Tor 
ascertaining  exactly  what  the  changes  were  which  had,  in 
1688,  taken  place  in  the  inserted  pages.  The  reprint  did 
not  contain  the  eight-page  supplement  added  to  the  edition 
published  in  1688,  and  it  was  further  differentiated  by 
the  addition  of  a  brief  “  Preface  to  the  Reader,”  dated 
“Boston,  Feb.  26,  I7if,”  setting  forth  the  purpose  of 
the  publication.  It  was  evident  that  this  edition  of  the 


3  8  Colonial  Currency 

pamphlet  was  issued,  not  with  intention  of  presenting  the 
exact  form  of  the  bank  proposed  to  be  organized,  but 
simply  to  show  in  a  general  way  the  utility  of  banks  of 
that  sort. 

It  appears  from  the  several  accounts  of  what  then  took 
place,  that  certain  Boston  merchants,  after  discussing  what 
they  termed  “  the  Difficulties  that  Trade  laboured  under,  for 
want  of  a  Medium  of  Exchange,  the  Silver  being  sent  Home 
for  England ,  and  the  Bills  of  Credit  on  the  several  Provinces 
daily  Called  in  by  the  Funds,”  concluded  to  call  together 
their  friends  and  hold  a  general  consultation  as  to  the 
remedy  for  the  situation.  Several  meetings  were  held. 
Written  opinions  as  to  the  evil  and  the  possible  remedies 
were  submitted,  and  finally  it  was  agreed  that  under  the 
countenance  of  the  government,  they  would  organize  what 
they  termed  “  a  Land  Security,  as  a  Fund  for  Bills  and  Notes 
to  be  circulated.”  An  advertisement  was  put  in  the  News 
Letter  of  the  first  of  February  which  was  repeated  on  the 
eighth  of  the  same  month,  announcing  that  a  committee 
would  be  in  attendance  at  the  Exchange  Tavern  on  certain 
days  to  receive  subscriptions  to  the  project,  with  a  view 
of  presenting  the  same  to  the  assembly  for  approval  and 
encouragement.  It  was  hoped  at  this  stage  of  the  proceed¬ 
ings  that  they  might  receive  from  the  government  the 
necessary  powers  to  carry  on  the  affair  with  safety  to  them¬ 
selves  and  to  the  possessors  of  their  bills  and  notes.  Some 
of  them  called  upon  the  governor  and  were  led  to  suppose 
that  he  was  not  opposed  to  the  scheme  and  further  that  he 
thought  that  it  was  not  practicable  for  the  province  to  lend 
bills  of  public  credit  at  interest.  Thus  encouraged  they  sub¬ 
mitted  a  scheme  to  the  general  court  at  the  February  session, 


Introduction 


39 

1 71 3-14.  The  opposition  to  granting  any  powers  to  private 
persons  to  emit  bills  or  notes  to  circulate  as  money  led  to  the 
open  advocacy  of  the  emission  on  the  part  of  the  government 
itself  of  bills  of  public  credit  to  be  let  out  at  interest  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  province,  and  Paul  Dudley,  the  son  of  the 
governor,  who  was  the  attorney  general,  took  upon  himself 
the  task  of  opposing  the  scheme  for  a  private  bank,  and 
submitted  a  memorial  on  the  subject  to  the  council  on 
which  action  was  taken  August  20,  1714.  The  council 
then  prohibited  the  projectors  of  the  bank  from  printing 
their  scheme ;  from  making  it  public ;  and  from  emitting 
any  notes  or  bills  until  they  should  have  submitted  their 
propositions  to  the  assembly.  The  order  of  the  council 
forbidding  the  projectors  of  the  scheme  for  a  bank  from 
proceeding  further  with  it  until  they  should  have  submitted 
it  to  the  assembly  did  not  deter  the  projectors  from  the 
exercise  of  what  they  conceived  to  be  their  rights  as  private 
citizens.  If  they  could  not  secure  the  approval  of  the 
government,  they  could  at  any  rate  go  ahead  as  individuals 
in  partnership.  They,  therefore,  announced  in  the  News 
Letter  of  August  23,  1714,  that  subscriptions  would  be 
received  at  the  Sun  Tavern  during  August  and  September 
for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  partnership. 

At  the  October  session  of  the  general  court  a  copy  of 
the  scheme  was  submitted  to  the  governor  and  another  to 
the  house  of  representatives.  During  the  progress  of 
these  events  the  discussion  had  disclosed  several  weak 
points  in  the  proposed  bank  which  in  the  matured  plan  then 
submitted  were  so  altered  as  to  cover  the  objections  made 
by  their  opponents. 


40 


Colonial  Currency 


A  Projection  for  Erecting  a  Bank  of  Credit 

The  plan  for  a  bank  which  was  finally  adopted  was 
printed  shortly  thereafter.  The  “  Projection  for  erecting  a 
bank  of  credit,”  as  it  was  termed,  bears  date  on  its  title  page 
1714,  but  apparently  it  was  not  made  public  until  the  latter 
part  of  that  year  or  early  in  1715.  An  abstract  of  its 
contents  is  desirable  at  this  point,  but  the  full  title  will 
be  found  in  proper  chronological  sequence. 

The  pamphlet  opened  with  a  preamble  to  the  effect  that 
there  was  a  shortage  in  the  circulating  medium  in  New 
England  and  that  there  was  no  relief  apparently  to  be 
obtained  except  through  the  agency  of  a  bank  of  credit 
upon  land  security. 

Subscriptions  to  the  extent  of  ,£300,000  were  to  be  re¬ 
ceived.  Each  subscriber  was  to  make  over  to  the  bank 
real  estate  to  the  value  of  his  subscription,  to  be  held  as 
security  for  bills  to  be  emitted  by  the  bank,  the  amount  of 
such  emissions  being  limited  to  the  amount  of  the  subscrip¬ 
tions.  Subscribers  were  to  take  out  and  keep  for  two  years 
at  least  one  quarter  part  of  these  subscriptions,  and  they 
agreed  to  give  credit  to  the  bills  of  the  bank.  Any  outsider 
might  borrow  from  the  bank  on  furnishing  security  in  the 
same  way  as  the  original  subscribers.  The  rate  of  interest 
to  be  adopted  by  the  bank  in  its  transactions  was  five 
per  cent.,  and  prudent  restraints  were  imposed  upon  the 
relation  of  the  amounts  to  be  loaned  to  the  value  of  the 
property. 

The  bank  was  spoken  of  in  this  instrument  as  a  part¬ 
nership,  and  the  general  management  of  its  affairs  was  to  be 
entrusted  to  seven  directors,  while  the  execution  of  the 


Introduction 


4i 


fiduciary  acts  which  might  arise  in  the  performance  of  the 
daily  business  of  the  bank  devolved  upon  seven  trustees 
whose  actions  were  under  control  of  the  directors.  The 
term  of  services  of  the  directors  was  one  year,  and  provi¬ 
sion  was  made  for  an  annual  meeting  of  the  company. 
There  was  to  be  a  president,  a  treasurer,  a  head  clerk,  and 
an  under  clerk.  Provision  was  made  for  the  transfer  of 
credit  taken  out  by  subscribers  in  case  such  transfer  was 
desired. 

The  bill  which  it  was  proposed  to  emit  was  based  upon 
the  form  in  use  by  the  province  and  was  a  mere  certificate 
that  the  same  would  be  accepted  by  the  partners  of  the 
Bank  of  Credit  of  Boston  in  New  England  in  lieu  of  so 
many  shillings ;  and  further,  that  it  would  be  so  accepted  in 
business  transactions  at  the  office  of  the  bank. 

A  bid  for  public  favor  was  made  in  the  offer  of  certain 
gifts  for  public  uses  to  be  made  out  of  the  profits  of  the 
bank,  provided  they  were  adequate  for  the  purpose.  Four 
hundred  pounds  per  annum  were  promised  for  a  charity 
school  in  Boston,  provided  the  town  would  receive  the  bills 
for  taxes.  Two  hundred  pounds  per  annum  were  to  be 
given  Harvard  College  for  salaries  and  exhibitions.  Twenty 
pounds  per  annum  for  a  grammar  school  in  each  county 
and  forty  pounds  per  annum  for  the  salary  of  the  master  of 
every  such  school. 

Objections  to  the  Bank  of  Credit 

The  order  of  council  which  was  issued  in  August,  1714, 
obviously  did  not  by  its  terms  prevent  the  projectors  of  the 
bank  of  credit  from  maturing  their  plan  with  a  view  to  its 


42 


Colonial  Currency 

submission  to  the  assembly  as  a  condition  precedent  for 
printing  the  scheme  and  for  putting  the  plan  in  operation. 
Their  preliminary  preparations,  reference  to  which  has  been 
made,  were  therefore  carried  on  openly,  and  at  the  October 
session  they  submitted  a  scheme,  presumably  the  same  as 
that  which  was  subsequently  printed,  of  which  an  abstract 
has  just  been  given.  The  action  of  these  gentlemen  in  thus 
publicly  continuing  their  preparations  led  Paul  Dudley, 
the  attorney  general,  whose  memorial  to  the  council  had 
caused  the  issuance  of  the  order  of  prohibition,  to  publish  a 
pamphlet  in  which  he  violently  attacked  the  private  bank  of 
credit  and  advocated  the  plan  of  emitting  bills  of  public 
credit  by  the  province  for  loans  to  individuals  as  the  proper 
remedy  for  the  situation.  When  Dudley  wrdte,  no  submis¬ 
sion  of  the  scheme  of  the  proposed  bank  had  been  made  to  the 
assembly,  and  he  inferred  that  it  was  not  intended  to  make 
any  application  for  a  charter.  He  asserts,  indeed,  that  they 
“  presume  to  Incorporate  themselves,  and  make  their  own 
Rules  and  Orders,”  thus  showing  that  at  this  stage  of  opera¬ 
tions,  notwithstanding  his  use  of  the  word  “  Incorporate,” 
the  intention  of  the  projectors  to  proceed  as  a  partnership 
of  private  individuals  was  clear.  Dudley’s  pamphlet,  which 
was  in  the  form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  John  Burril,  Esq., 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  entitled 
“  Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,  lately  projected  at 
Boston,”  was  dated  Boston,  October  22,  1714,  and  had  a 
postscript  in  which  he  admitted  that  the  projectors,  since 
the  date  of  his  letter,  had  remodelled  their  scheme,  thus 
removing  several  of  the  objections  that  he  had  raised  to  it. 


Introduction 


43 


Reply  to  the  Objections 

A  reply  to  this  letter  was  published  under  the  title  of 
“  A  letter  from  one  in  Boston  to  his  friend  in  the  country. 
In  answer  to  a  letter  directed  to  John  Burril,  Esqr.”  etc. 
The  letter  was  dated  “  New  England,  Anno  1714,”  and  was 

signed  “  F - 1.  B  -  -  -t.”  It  was  a  vigorous  attack  upon 

Dudley’s  arguments,  and  a  strong  endorsement  of  the 
private  bank  in  preference  to  the  so-called  public  bank,  as  a 
remedy  for  the  supposed  shortage  of  money.  The  right  of 
the  province  to  emit  bills  for  the  purpose  of  loaning  them  at 
interest  was  challenged,  as  was  also  the  power  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  to  prevent  individuals  from  agreeing  among  them¬ 
selves  to  “take  one  anothers  Notes”  or  “to  agree  upon 
some  persons  to  form  these  Notes  under  their  hands  for 

them. ”  The  writer  asserts  that  the  order  of  the  council 
had  been  strictly  complied  with.  The  scheme  had  been 
submitted  to  the  general  court  when  he  wrote,  but  had  not 
been  printed,  although  he  says  that  since  he  began  his  letter 
he  had  heard  that  the  scheme  “is  coming  out  in  print;” 
elsewhere  he  refers  the  reader  to  “  the  true  Form  and  Tenour 
of  the  Bill  in  the  Scheme  Printed,”  from  which  we  may 
infer  that  he  had  seen  the  scheme  in  printed  form,  perhaps 
in  proof.  He  refers  apparently  to  the  proposed  bank  of 
1686  in  the  following:  “Our  Fathers  about* Twenty  eight 
years  ago  entred  into  a  Partnership  to  Circulate  their  Notes 
founded  on  Land  Security,  stamped  on  Paper,  as  our 
Province  Bills,  which  gave  no  offence  to  the  Government 

then,  and  that  at  a  time,  when  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown 
was  extended  further  than  ever  has  been  since.”  He 
intimates  that  the  projectors  “  are  applying  Home  for  a 


44 


Colonial  Currency 

Charter  from  the  King  to  Incorporate  them,”  and  says  they 
“have  agreed  by  a  Humble  Petition,  to  lay  it  before  His 
Majesty,  praying  for  a  Charter  of  Incorporation.”  The 
approximate  date  of  the  letter  may  be  inferred  from  the 
character  of  the  arguments  against  the  public  bank.  The 
proposition  for  the  province  to  loan  bills  of  public  credit 
to  individuals  on  interest  was  evidently  under  discussion 
when  he  wrote.  This  question  was  settled  by  the  emission 
November  14,  of  ,£50,000  for  that  purpose.  The  pamphlet, 
therefore,  probably  antedates  this  event. 


A  Vindication  of  the  Bank  of  Credit 

Following  this  the  projectors  of  the  bank  issued  a 
pamphlet  signed  by  nine  of  the  participants  in  the  scheme, 
“  at  the  desire  and  in  behalf  of  the  Partnership.”  This 
was  entitled,  “  A  vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit  projected 
in  Boston  from  the  aspersions  of  Paul  Dudley,  Esqr.”  etc. 
The  “  Vindication  ”  was,  as  its  name  indicates,  devoted  to  a 
defence  of  the  private  bank  and  an  attempt  to  refute  the 
arguments  of  Paul  Dudley.  It  was  dated  December  20, 
1714,  and  contained  the  announcement  that  in  consequence 
of  the  needless  aspersions  under  which  the  “  Projection  ”  had 
labored  the  advocates  of  the  scheme,  would  take  occasion 
to  print  it  in  full.  There  is  no  indication  in  the  pamphlet 
of  any  intention  on  the  part  of  the  projectors  to  abandon 
their  scheme,  even  though  the  so-called  public  bank  had 
been  established  about  a  month  before  the  date  of  its  publi¬ 
cation,  but  the  supply  of  ,£50,000  of  currency  to  the  in¬ 
habitants  in  the  way  of  loans  must  have  undermined  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  the  bank,  and  as 


Introduction 


45 


a  matter  of  fact  the  experiment  was  abandoned  practically 
at  this  point  Not,  however,  until  the  projectors,  in  the 
latter  part  of  December,  1714,  or  early  in  1715,  had  carried 
out  their  promise  and  published  their  scheme,  an  abstract 
of  which  has  already  been  given.  The  full  title  of  this 
pamphlet  was  “  A  projection  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit 
in  Boston,  New  England,  founded  on  land  security,  1714.” 

On  the  twenty-second  of  June,  1716,  a  committee  of  the 
General  Court,  appointed  for  promoting  the  produce  and 
trade  of  the  province,  reported  a  bill  for  emitting  ^100,000 
in  bills  of  public  credit.  The  ,£50,000  loaned  to  the  Boston 
merchants  to  enable  them  to  carry  the  sterling  drafts  issued 
in  payment  for  the  supplies  furnished  the  Hill  and  Walker 
Quebec  expedition,  had  by  that  time  been  nearly  all  paid 
back,  but  the  ^50,000  loaned  to  individuals  in  1714  was 
still  outstanding.  The  subject  of  the  loan  was  under  con¬ 
sideration  during  the  summer,  and  on  the  fourth  of  Decem¬ 
ber  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  emission  of  £  100,000  to 
be  distributed  among  the  counties  and  loaned  to  inhabitants 
of  the  province  at  five  per  cent,  interest  on  real  security  for 
ten  years. 


Some  Considerations  upon  the  Several  Sorts 

of  Banks 

While  this  bill  was  under  discussion  a  pamphlet  'was 
issued  entitled  “  Some  considerations  upon  the  several 
sorts  of  banks  propos’d  as  a  medium  of  trade ;  and  some 
improvements  that  might  be  made  in  this  province,  hinted 
at.”  The  writer  intimated  that  the  silver  was  all  gone  out 
of  the  province,  while  the  bills  of  public  credit  were  daily 


46  Colonial  Currency 

decreasing.  He  thought  the  situation  could  be  improved 
by  the  emission  of  bills  of  public  credit  which  should  be 
lent  to  particular  persons  for  useful  and  beneficial  work,  or 
given  outright  to  others  to  encourage  inventions  and  trades. 
This  would  not  only  increase  the  running  cash,  but  would 
diminish  imports. 

Various  propositions  had  been  made,  he  said,  to  amelio¬ 
rate  the  situation,  the  first  of  which  was  the  private  bank 
of  credit  founded  on  land  security.  This  was  dangerous, 
because  it  lodged  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  individ¬ 
uals.  They  could  emit  large  sums  of  bills  and  monopolize 
commodities.  The  second,  the  public  bank,  concentrated 
too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  rulers.  A  third  proposi¬ 
tion,  that  of  loaning  bills  of  public  credit  to  towns  for  twenty 
years  at  five  per  cent.,  was  most  eligible.  He  referred  to  a 
“  new  specie  of  bills  founded  upon  mortgaged  lands  and 
upon  the  country’s  undivided  lands,”  and  concluded  that 
the  loans  to  towns  was  the  better  remedy  of  the  two  for 
the  evils  of  the  situation.  Finally,  he  suggests  a  fourth 
remedy.  Men  of  business  were  to  get  together,  make  bills, 
and  give  security  to  answer  them.  These  bills  were  to  be 
emitted  without  interest,  and  once  a  year  the  men  of  busi¬ 
ness  who  emitted  them  to  each  other  were  to  assemble  and 
provide  for  the  expense  of  maintenance  of  their  company. 
Their  books  of  subscription  were  to  be  opened  in  various 
places  in  the  province,  and  when  a  “  competent  cash  ”  had 
been  taken  out  the  books  were  to  be  closed.  Such  a  bank  as 
this,  he  thought,  might  be  very  useful  as  a  medium  of  trade. 

After  all,  however,  he  thought  that  banks  were  only 
remedial  agents.  They  were  like  cordials  administered  to  a 
sick  man.  Their  effects  were  only  temporary,  and  they 


Introduction 


47 


were  not  to  be  regarded  as  of  permanent  use.  It  was  pref¬ 
erable  that  the  government  should  emit  large  sums  in  bills 
for  promoting  what  might  be  beneficial  and  of  general  use. 
The  building  of  a  bridge  over  the  Charles  was  of  this  class. 
It  would  call  for  the  expenditure  of  a  large  sum  of  money, 
and  the  bridge  when  constructed  would  be  of  public  benefit. 
The  cutting  of  a  canal  at  Sandwich  would  operate  in  a 
similar  way.  Industrial  enterprises  might  be  set  up ;  agri¬ 
culture  encouraged;  and  grain  warehouses  built.  A  day 
might  be  set  when  there  should  be  no  more  slaves,  and  a 
moderate  provision  of  wild  land  might  be  made  for  servants 
whose  term  of  indenture  had  expired,  thus  opening  new 
townships.  The  sum  of  ^100,000  which  the  General  Court 
had  agreed  upon  as  the  proper  amount  to  emit  for  loans 
was,  in  his  judgment,  not  enough;  but  notwithstanding  the  in¬ 
adequacy  of  the  amount,  he  asks,  How  should  it  be  emitted  ? 
Should  it  be  loaned  to  towns  without  interest,  or  to  our  neces¬ 
sitous  neighbors  with  interest  ?  He  was  of  opinion  that  the 
best  method  of  loaning  this  sum  would  be  through  the  towns. 

The  ,£100,000  loan  would  appear  to  have  had  so  per¬ 
ceptible  an  effect  upon  prices  that  the  cause  of  the  rise  was 
directly  attributed  by  many  to  the  emission  of  this  large 
amount  of  bills.  The  general  effect  of  the  emission  prob¬ 
ably  was  to  increase  the  bills  of  public  credit  of  the  province 
in  circulation  by  more  than  40  per  cent. 


Discussion  of  Remedies 

A  writer  who  was  opposed  to  the  emission  of  paper  money 
seized  this  opportunity  to  issue  a  pamphlet  in  which  he 
attacked  the  system  which  then  prevailed  of  constantly 


48  Colonial  Currency 

attempting  to  relieve  the  apparent  stringency  of  the  money 
market  by  emitting  more  bills  of  public  credit.  The  title 
of  the  pamphlet  was  “The  present  melancholy  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  province  consider’d,  and  methods  for  redress 
humbly  proposed,  in  a  letter  from  one  in  the  country  to 
one  in  Boston.”  From  the  opening  sentence  in  the  pam¬ 
phlet  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  writer  had  somewhere 
made  public  some  of  his  opinions  upon  the  subject  under 
discussion,  but  he  does  not  indicate  where  this  expression  of 
opinion  is  to  be  found.  He  ascribes  the  disappearance  of 
the  Spanish  silver  money  upon  which  the  province  had 
mainly  depended  for  a  circulating  medium  to  mismanage¬ 
ment  and  extravagance,  and  sees  no  relief  for  the  situation 
except  in  an  excess  of  exports  over  imports.  Relief  may 
be  found  in  a  diminution  of  the  present  extravagance  in 
clothing;  in  a  reduction  of  the  use  of  wine,  rum,  and 
brandy,  as  well  as  of  tea,  coffee,  and  chocolate;  and  in  the 
refusal  to  license  so  many  taverns.  He  sums  up  his  views 
in  two  rules,  which  are  in  substance:  Make  what  we  can  at 
at  home  :  buy  no  unnecessary  imports.  “  I ’m  humbly  of 
opinion,”  he  says,  “  that  a  thousand  schemes  about  Banks 
and  P aper-Money  would  not  help  us  like  this.”  He  calls 
attention  to  the  rise  of  prices  during  the  past  twenty  years, 
says  the  cost  of  living  has  doubled  and  that  since  the 
,£100,000  emission  prices  have  considerably  risen.  “Some 
think,”  he  says,  “  that  the  emitting  more  paper  money  would 
bring  us  out  of  our  difficulties,  but  I ’m  humbly  of  another 
opinion.”  His  suggestion  for  a  remedy  resolves  itself  into, 
Buy  no  more  imports  than  are  necessary. 

It  is  evident  that  this  pamphlet  was  favorably  received, 
for  about  a  month  after  it  was  published  the  author 


Introduction 


49 


presented  the  public  with  a  resume  of  his  -views.  This 
time  his  pamphlet  was  entitled  “  An  addition  to  the 
present  melancholy  circumstances  of  the  province  con¬ 
sidered,  &c.  March  6th,  1718,  19.  Exhibiting  considera¬ 
tions  about  labour,  commerce,  money,  notes,  or  bills  of 
credit.”  The  publication  bore  the  date  April  14,  1719. 
The  various  subjects  designated  in  this  title  are  taken  up 
in  the  order  of  their  mention,  and  treated  at  some  length 
in  the  body  of  the  pamphlet.  He  is,  as  may  be  inferred 
from  the  previous  pamphlet,  an  advocate  of  industry,  a 
believer  in  the  necessity  of  reducing  the  expenditures  for 
articles  of  import,  and  a  disbeliever  in  the  bills  of  public 
credit,  at  any  rate  a  disbeliever  in  them  as  they  are  being 
handled.  There  was  a  constant  tendency  towards  increas¬ 
ing  the  amount  in  circulation  and  a  disposition  to  postpone 
the  levying  of  the  funds  through  which  they  were  to  be 
withdrawn.  He  argues  that  calling  them  in  will  increase 
their  value,  and  deprecates  the  postponement  of  any  of 
the  so-called  funds  established  for  their  recall.  He  refers 
to  a  practice  which  had  sprung  up  of  paying  laborers  “  with 
half  Money  and  half  Goods  ”  and  asks,  Is  not  this  a  great 
damage  to  them  ?  His  general  views  may  perhaps  be  sum¬ 
marized  in  an  epigrammatic  statement  from  the  pamphlet. 
A  law,  he  says,  may  lay  restraints  and  threaten  penalties, 
“but  it  can’t  change  Men’s  minds,  to  make  them  think  a 
piece  of  Paper  is  a  piece  of  Money.” 


The  Private  Bank  Again  to  the  Front 

About  this  time  it  was  evident  that  the  advocates  of  the 
private  bank  acquired  new  hopes  of  being  permitted  to  put 

VOL.  I  —  4 


5  o  Colonial  Currency 

their  plan  in  practice.  Following  the  propagandism  of  the 
opponents  of  bills  of  credit,  came  a  pamphlet  in  1720,  written 
by  John  Colman,  afterwards  notorious  for  his  connection 
with  the  Land  Bank  of  1 740,  entitled  “  The  distressed  state 
of  the  town  of  Boston,  &c.  considered.  In  a  letter  from 
a  gentleman  in  the  town  to  his  friend  in  the  country.” 
From  its  pages  we  get  a  few  ideas  as  to  the  then  existing 
condition  of  affairs  in  the  province.  The  author  speaks  of 
the  vast  number  of  lawsuits  pending  in  the  courts  and 
asserts  that  at  the  April  term  that  year,  in  Suffolk  County, 
Massachusetts,  one  thousand  writs  were  taken  out.  He 
refers  with  disapproval  to  the  law  “  to  shorten  credit.”  He 
believes  that  “  everybody’s  Belly  is  full  of  the  Publick  Bank,” 
the  “  wretched  consequences  ”  of  which  they  were  short 
sighted  if  they  did  not  foresee.  He  estimates  the  out¬ 
standing  bills  of  all  New  England  at  ,£200,000.  The  out¬ 
standing  loans  demand  annually  large  sums  for  interest, 
“How  then  shall  the  Principal  be  paid?”  he  says.  His 
remedy  is  a  private  bank,  but  if  the  government  would  not 
permit  that,  then  he  would  emit  bills  of  public  credit  for 
the  construction  of  public  works  and  the  encouragement  of 
industries. 

His  estimate  of  the  outstanding  bills  in  circulation  in  1720 
was  ridiculously  small.  Massachusetts  Bay  alone  had  about 
,£230,000  outstanding,  granting  that  all  loans  had  been  paid 
when  due,  a  proposition  which  was,  of  course,  not  to  be 
accepted  as  true.  It  was  true,  however,  that  in  1718,  1719, 
and  1720,  the  amount  of  bills  of  public  credit  of  the  province 
in  circulation  was  nominally  reduced  by  nearly  ,£50,000, 
through  payments  of  loans  and  interest.  Meantime,  not¬ 
withstanding  this  reduction,  the  price  of  silver  continued  to 


Introduction 


5i 


rise,  showing  that  from  some  source  the  quantity  of  bills  in 
circulation  was  at  least  maintained,  perhaps  increased.  The 
contributory  effect  of  the  bills  of  the  adjoining  governments 
was  then  at  work,  and  although  the  specific  emissions  to 
which  it  might  be  chargeable  are  not  to  be  identified,  it  may 
be  assumed  that  the  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  is  to 
be  charged  to  this  cause. 

The  author  refers  to  a  law  for  limiting  or  shortening  credit. 
This  statute  was  simply  a  reduction  of  the  term  of  the  Statute 
of  Limitations  to  two  years.  Merchants  then  gave  long 
credits.  The  steady  depreciation  of  the  currency  brought 
them  in  contact  with  the  obvious  fact  that  debtors  who  took 
long  terms  for  the  settlement  of  their  accounts  were  able 
through  the  legal  tender  function  of  the  bills  of  public 
credit  which  had  progressively  declined  in  value,  to  make 
adjustments  of  their  affairs  which  were  disadvantageous  for 
their  creditors.  The  proposed  remedy,  the  shortening  of 
the  term  of  the  Statute  of  Limitations,  was  in  its  nature 
experimental  and  the  law  was  to  be  in  effect  according  to 
its  terms  for  five  years  only.  It  did  not  work  satisfactorily  „ 
and  was  not  extended.  The  publication  of  this  pamphlet 
was  followed  by  the  arrest  of  its  author  in  a  criminal  suit 
for  libel. 


Replies  to  Colman 

Colman’s  “  Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  con¬ 
sidered  ”  brought  out  a  prompt  reply  in  the  News  Letter,  and 
a  few  days  thereafter  a  pamphlet  entitled  “  A  letter  from 
one  in  the  country  to  his  friend  in  Boston,  containing  some 
remarks  upon  a  late  pamphlet,  entituled  the  distressed 


5  2  Colonial  Currency 

state  of  the  town  of  Boston,  &c.”  The  pamphlet  is  de¬ 
voted  to  an  attack  on  the  private  bank  and  to  a  refutation  of 
Colman’s  arguments.  It  is  a  curious  mixture  of  common 
sense  with  ignorance  of  economic  laws,  but  as  a  whole  the 
positions  taken  by  the  author  are  reasonable.  He  quotes 
silver  at  12s.  an  ounce,  and  says  that  even  the  counters 
which  pass  for  pennies  are  being  bought  up  at  14^.  a  dozen, 
although  they  will  pass  for  only  half  pence  in  England. 
He  refers  to  a  current  belief  that  the  province  would  not 
call  for  payment  of  the  loans  outstanding.  The  growing 
scarcity  of  the  bills  will,  in  his  judgment,  bring  the  bills  ulti¬ 
mately  to  a  par  with  silver.  The  trouble  with  the  law 
limiting  credits  was  that  it  did  not  go  far  enough.  The 
power  to  contract  debts  ought  to  be  limited  still  further. 
Long  credits  produce  extravagance  and  encourage  imports. 
England  can  protect  herself  against  excessive  imports  by 
heavy  duties,  —  a  power  which  the  colonies  cannot  exercise. 
Reduce  extravagance  by  abolishing  long  credits,  and  then 
let  there  be  industry,  frugality,  and  good  husbandry,  and  the 
trouble  will  be  cured.  The  so-called  “  Letter”  bears  date  April 
23, 1720.  The  communication  to  the  News  Letter  appeared 
April  18.  They  were  both  attributed  to  the  Reverend 
Edward  Wigglesworth. 

An  anonymous  publication,  three  pages  in  length,  dated 
“  Deadham,  1720,”  appeared  about  this  time.  It  was  entitled 
“  The  Postscript.”  The  writer  attacks  the  positions  taken  by 
the  author  of  “  The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston 
considered,”  etc.,  and  asserts  “That  the  Distressed  Author , 
of  the  Distressed  State  whoever  he  was,  To  my  apprehen¬ 
sions  had  taken  the  Model  from  himself,  and  by  mistake  had 
won  the  Towns  Case  Paralel  with  his  own.” 


Introduction 


53 


Colman  Finds  a  Defender 

About  a  month  after  the  appearance  of  the  “  Remarks  ” 
on  Colman’s  pamphlet,  a  reply  thereto  appeared  under  title 
of  “  A  letter  from  a  gentleman  containing  some  remarks 
upon  the  several  answers  given  unto  Mr.  Colman’s,  en- 
tituled,  The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston.”  This 
letter  is  addressed  to  Colman,  and  the  pamphlet  plainly 
shows  that  the  “  several  answers  ”  upon  which  he  is  making 
remarks  are  the  News  Letter  communication  of  April  eight¬ 
eenth  and  the  pamphlet  which  has  just  been  described, 
dated  April  twenty-third.  He  says,  however,  that  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  these  he  has  “also  seen  a  piece  of  sulled  paper 
Intituled,  The  Postscript,”  which  he  “  hastily  ran  over,  but 
thought  it  not  worth  while  to  give  it  a  second  reading,  being 
sensible  that  none  but  some  very  mean  wretch  could  be  so 
simple  to  think  the  Cause  (of  which  he  would  be  thought  a 
Patron)  could  receive  any  benefit  by  the  railing  of  such 
a  Rabshica .”  Apparently  this  postscript  was  not  by  the 
author  of  the  pamphlet.  The  tone  of  the  “  Letter  ”  to 
Colman  is  vulgar,  and  it  contains  but  little  information 
on  current  affairs.  It  does,  however,  refer  to  the  diminu¬ 
tion  of  the  Newfoundland  trade,  which  is  attributed  to 
the  high  price  of  provisions.  It  also  refers  to  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  laborers,  half  money  and  half  goods,  and  asks 
what  else  can  the  laborers  do  with  “  their  Notes  to  Shops  ” 
than  to  improve  them  as  best  they  can.  It  asserts  that 
the  discount  on  the  colony  bills  caused  the  soldiers  of  the 
Canada  expedition  to  lose  fifty  per  cent,  of  their  wages. 
It  disputes  the  statement  that  at  a  town  meeting  in 
Boston  the  private  bank  was  rejected  by  a  great  majority 


54 


Colonial  Currency 

of  voters,  and  thinks  that  on  a  written  vote  that  “  would 
have  proved  pretty  equal.” 


The  Attack  on  Colman  Renewed 

The  date  affixed  to  this  pamphlet  was  May  sixteenth* 
1720.  On  the  twenty-fourth  the  author  of  “A  letter  from 
one  in  the  country  to  his  friend  in  Boston,  etc.,”  retaliated 
with  “  A  vindication  of  the  remarks  of  one  in  the  country 
upon  The  distressed  state  of  Boston,  from  some  exceptions 
made  against  ’em  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Colman.”  The  writer 
reasserts  his  belief  that  the  remedy  for  the  situation  is  to  be 
found  in  reducing  the  imports  below  the  exports,  and  this 
he  would  accomplish  by  checking  extravagance  through  the 
limitation  of  credits.  If  it  could  not  be  done  in  the  way 
proposed,  he  would  have  ten  per  cent,  interest  charged  on 
all  traders’  over-due  accounts.  He  opens  with  the  assertion 
that  he  is  opposed  to  the  emission  of  any  public  or  private 
bills  on  any  scheme  that  has  as  yet  been  suggested,  but  adds 
that  he  himself  has  under  consideration  a  project  by  which 
“  an  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  of  Bills  may  be  emitted  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  raise  their  credit  equal  to  silver,  and  to 
bring  an  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  of  Silver  into  the 
Country  in  a  few  years.”  This  suggestion  is  extremely  in¬ 
teresting.  The  language  in  which  he  outlines  his  project 
closely  resembles  that  used  in  the  schemes  proposed  by  the 
hard  money  men  a  few  years  later  in  their  ineffectual  struggle 
to  bring  the  province  to  a  specie  basis,  and  it  is  not  improb¬ 
able  that  we  have  here  the  germ  of  those  efforts. 

The  greater  part  of  the  pamphlet  is  taken  up  with  a 
review  of  the  “  Letter  ”  to  Colman,  which  is  dissected 


Introduction 


55 

sentence  by  sentence,  the  arguments  of  his  adversary  being 
refuted  and  his  statements  denied.  The  allegation  made  by 
the  author  of  a  “  Letter  from  a  gentleman  ”  that  the  soldiers 
of  the  Canada  expedition  suffered  a  loss  of  fifty  per  cent,  on 
their  wages  is  denied.  A  statement  made  by  him  that 
,£3,000  in  silver  is  all  that  comes  annually  to  the  province 
is  met  by  the  counter  statement  that  ,£10,000  at  least  is 
received  each  year  and  that  ,£10,000  was  exported  a  short 
time  before  in  one  ship.  The  only  hoarding  of  bills  of 
which  he  knows  anything  is  purely  artificial,  and  is  per¬ 
formed  by  the  advocates  of  public  or  private  banks  for  the 
purpose  of  affecting  public  opinion. 


Oil  on  the  Troubled  Waters 

A  pamphlet  entitled  “  Reflections  on  the  present  state  of 
the  province  of  Massachuset  Bay  in  general  and  town  of 
Boston  in  particular;  relating  to  bills  of  credit  and  the 
support  of  trade  by  them:  As  the  same  has  been  lately 
represented  in  several  pamphlets,”  was  published  in  July, 
1720.  Following  the  custom  of  the  day,  it  was  in  the  form 
of  a  letter,  bore  date  July  20,  1720,  and  was  addressed  to 
the  author  of  the  “  Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston,” 
etc.  The  writer  deprecates  the  tone  of  the  discussion  and 
seeks  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters  by  his  calm  and 
temperate  treatment  of  the  subject,  his  object  being  “  to 
perswade  the  Dissenting  Gentlemen  themselves  to  be  of  one 
mind.”  His  pamphlet  is  well-constructed  in  form,  although 
weak  in  its  conclusions.  He  lays  down  a  series  of  pre¬ 
liminary  propositions  as  to  trade,  commerce,  and  money,  in 
displayed  type,  most  of  which  are  undeniable.  Following 


5  6  Colonial  Currency 

these  propositions  comes  in  each  instance  a  brief  discussion. 
These  discussions  or  elaborations  of  the  propositions  are 
many  of  them  acceptable.  He  has  evidently  been  much 
impressed  with  the  arguments  which  attribute  the  evils  of 
the  situation  to  extravagance  of  living  and  excessive  im¬ 
ports,  and  he  therefore  urges  economy,  industry,  and  frugality. 
He  apparently  conceived  that  with  united  efforts  in  these 
respects,  the  bills  of  public  credit  could  be  supported  by 
public  opinion,  or  to  quote  his  own  words,  “To  me,  there¬ 
fore,  it  seems  as  if  the  restoring  and  upholding  our  Bills  of 
Credit  to  their  just  Value,  would  be  an  excellent  means  to 
put  an  End  to  these  Controversies,  and  give  every  one 
Content.”  How  this  restoration  and  upholding  was  to  be 
accomplished  he  does  not  point  out,  but  it  may  be  inferred 
that  he  thought  that  a  united  effort  of  the  people  would 
accomplish  this  result. 

Colman  Again  Takes  a  Hand 

On  the  same  day  that  “  Reflections  on  the  present  state 
of  the  province,  etc.,”  came  out  John  Colman  issued  a  second 
pamphlet  entitled  “  The  distressed  state  of  the  town  of 
Boston  once  more  considered.  And  methods  for  redress 
humbly  proposed,  with  remarks  on  the  pretended  country¬ 
man’s  answer  to  the  book,  entituled,  The  distressed  state  of 
the  town  of  Boston,  &c.  With  a  schaeme  for  a  bank  laid 
down :  and  methods  for  bringing  in  silver  money,  pro¬ 
posed.  By  John  Colman.” 

Colman’s  new  pamphlet  was  mainly  directed  towards 
answering  the  attacks  on  his  former  publication.  Scattered 
references  by  Colman  to  the  author  of  these  attacks  show 


Introduction 


57 


that  he  was  recognized  as  a  clergyman  of  high  standing. 
Colman  refers  to  “  the  character  of  him  who  is  accounted 
the  Author,”  says  “  He  forgets  the  Scriptures  (though  if  I 
am  not  out  of  my  guess)  his  Profession  is  to  study  them 
advises  him  “  to  stick  to  Divinity,”  and  professes  to  “  like 
him  much  better  in  the  Pulpit.”  He  lays  down  the  proposi¬ 
tion  with  emphasis  that  the  only  way  out  of  the  present 
troubles  in  the  province  is  to  project  some  new  medium  of 
exchange.  He  states  that  the  treasurer  of  the  province 
had  recently  paid  one  hundred  and  forty  per  cent,  for 
exchange  to  remit  to  the  province  agent  in  London.  The 
province,  he  was  of  opinion,  had  grown  in  riches  and 
strength  more  than  any  of  the  other  governments,  yet  there 
was  much  of  what  he  called  “  Truck  Trade,”  that  is  to  say, 
traders  both  bought  and  sold,  for  part  cash  and  part  goods, 
while  laborers  were  invariably  paid  in  part  with  orders  on 
shops  for  goods.  His  proposition  for  relief  was  a  Land 
Bank.  Against  the  lands  to  be  mortgaged  by  the  sub¬ 
scribers,  notes  would  he  issued  for  two-thirds  the  value  of 
the  mortgaged  property.  Borrowers  were  to  pay  the  bank 
six  per  cent,  interest.  He  evidently  regarded  ,£200,000  as 
what  he  termed  a  “  suitable  sum  ”  for  emission,  and  if 
this  amount  were  actually  to  be  taken  out  by  borrowers, 
the  interest  on  it  would  be  sufficient  to  leave  a  large 
margin  above  the  expenses  of  the  bank  for  profits.  These 
profits  he  would  invest  in  silver  and  retain  in  the  treasury 
of  the  bank  until  the  sum  on  deposit  equalled  the  notes 
emitted.  He  thought  that  it  would  take  twenty  years  to 
accumulate  enough  silver  to  redeem  the  notes  on  the  basis 
of  silver  at  eight  shillings  an  ounce.  He  was  of  opinion 
that  patrons  of  the  bank  might,  perhaps,  take  bank  credit 


5  8  Colonial  Currency 

instead  of  notes,  and  believed  that  if  this  were  the  case 
it  would  greatly  help  the  situation.  He  did  not  want  en¬ 
graved  notes.  They  were  too  easily  counterfeited.  But 
he  conceived  that  a  note  on  stamped  paper,  partly  printed 
and  partly  written,  would  be  much  safer.  He  proposed 
that  laws  should  be  passed  forbidding  the  purchase  or  sale 
of  silver  at  a  price  above  eight  shillings  an  ounce,  and 
requiring  shipmasters  to  take  oath  before  sailing  that  they 
had  no  silver  on  board.  Still,  he  was  not  hopeful  of  ac¬ 
complishing  anything  through  his  scheme  unless  it  should  be 
approved  by  the  government.  “  But  it  is  a  vanity  I  confess 
to  think  that  a  private  Bank  would  answer  without  the 
Government  support  and  encourage  it  by  suitable  laws,” 
are  his  words  on  this  subject. 

A  New  Proposition 

Another  pamphlet  dealing  with  the  currency  subject  was 
issued  this  year  under  the  title,  “  Some  proposals  to  benefit 
the  province.”  It  was  signed  F.  M. ;  had  a  three-page  post¬ 
script,  and  simply  bore  the  date  of  the  year,  1720.  The' 
author  advocated  a  Province  Bank  of  “2  or  3  hundred 
Thousand  Pounds,  more  or  less,”  to  be  under  control  of  the 
“  Great  and  General  Assembly.”  He  proposed  to  loan  bills 
of  public  credit,  on  “  Improved  Lands  or  any  sufficient  Se¬ 
curity.”  The  loans  were  to  be  for  twenty  years.  Interest 
at  six  per  cent,  per  annum  was  to  be  paid  in  hemp,  flax, 
turpentine,  pitch,  tar,  rosin,  fish,  oil,  whalebone,  or  any  other 
article  which  would  prevent  imports  or  be  available  for 
export.  The  interest  for  the  .first  year  was  to  be  waived, 
and  the  twenty  annual  payments  thereafter  would  not  only 


Introduction 


59 

* 

be  applicable  as  interest  upon  the  loan,  but  would  also 
extinguish  the  principal. 

The  produce  received  for  interest  was  to  be  stored  and 
sold  for  bullion.  The  bullion  was  to  be  lodged  in  the  treas¬ 
ury  and  retained  there.  The  fund  thus  established  might 
be  used  to  redeem  the  outstanding  bills  of  public  credit. 
The  writer  evidently  was  unfamiliar  with  the  subject,  but 
his  pamphlet  is  of  interest  in  view  of  the  fact  that  we  find 
here  for  the  first  time  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  the 
produce  of  the  province  in  connection  with  a  currency 
scheme,  as  a  weapon  of  warfare  against  excessive  imports. 


Pamphlets  with  Satirical  Titles 

A  series  of  political  pamphlets  was  published  in  1720  and 
1721,  the  connection  of  which  with  each  other  was  indicated 
by  their  titles.  Not  all  of  these  have  been  preserved,  the 
titles  of  some  being  known  only  through  references  to  them 
or  through  advertisements.  The  first  of  these  was  entitled 
“  News  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  Island,”  and  was  a  purely 
political  pamphlet,  having  no  connection  with  the  currency 
question.  Reference  is  made  to  it  here  simply  because  it  is 
referred  to  in  the  titles  of  two  pamphlets,  which,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  their  dealing  with  the  currency,  we  are  compelled 
to  notice.  These  are  “  Reflections  upon  reflections  or  more 
news  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  Island,  in  a  dialogue  between 
a  country  representative  and  a  Boston  gentleman,”  and 
“  New  news  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  Island,  in  a  letter  to  a 
gentleman  at  Portsmouth.”  Both  of  these  pamphlets  are 
full  of  personal  allusions. 


6o 


Colonial  Currency 


Looking  towards  Resumption 

We  have  seen  that  the  author  of  “  A  vindication  of  the 
remarks  of  one  in  the  country,”  etc.,  presumably  the  Rev¬ 
erend  Edward  Wigglesworth,  announced  in  that  pamphlet 
that  he  had  under  consideration  a  project  by  which  an 
hundred  thousand  pounds  might  be  emitted  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  bring  a  corresponding  amount  of  silver  into 
the  country  in  a  few  years.  A  pamphlet  was  published 
either  the  same  year  or  in  the  early  part  of  1721,  bearing 
upon  its  title  page  almost  the  identical  words  given  by  him 
in  the  “  Vindication.”  The  exact  title  of  the  pamphlet  was, 
“A  project  for  the  emission  of  an  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  province  bills  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  their 
credit  up  equal  to  silver,  and  to  bring  an  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  silver  money  into  the  country  in  a  few  years.” 
The  connection  of  the  author  of  the  “  Vindication  ”  with  the 
published  project  was  still  further  established  by  references 
in  his  text  to  his  former  publications. 

It  was  proposed  that  this  large  emission  should  be  made 
to  subscribers,  to  whom  the  bills  were  to  be  loaned  without 
interest,  provided  they  would  agree  to  repay  the  province  in 
annual  instalments  in  silver  at  specific  rates.  The  bill  pro¬ 
posed  to  be  emitted  was  by  its  terms  declared  to  be  equal 
to  silver  money  at  seventeen  and  a  half  pennyweight,  (that 
is  to  say,  the  Spanish  dollar  at  full  weight),  and  might 
be  exchanged  at  the  treasury  for  silver  on  or  after  De¬ 
cember  first,  1721.  The  suggestion  contained  in  this 
proposition,  to  the  effect  that  the  Boston  merchants  should 
combine  and  float  a  loan  made  by  the  province  in  bills  of 
public  credit,  which  they  should  agree  to  pay  back  to  the 


Introduction 


61 

province  in  silver  coin,  furnished  the  basis  for  several  at¬ 
tempts  at  resumption  of  specie  payments  a  few  years  later. 
Although  none  of  these  attempts  was  successful,  it  is 
interesting  to  note  the  origin  of  those  persistent  efforts 
on  the  part  of  the  hard  money  men  to  secure  relief  from 
the  evils  of  the  promiscuous  emission  of  an  irredeemable 
currency. 


The  Paper  Currency  Finds  Defenders 

Early  in  1721,  there  appeared  a  pamphlet  entitled  “A 
Letter  to  an  eminent  clergyman  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Containing  some  just  remarks  and  necessary  cautions,  relat¬ 
ing  to  public  affairs  in  that  province.  Printed  in  the  year 
1720.”  This  date  is  doubtless  Old  Style,  as  it  is  evident 
from  dates  in  advertisements  in  the  pamphlet  that  it  did 
not  appear  until  the  spring  of  1721.  The  author  was  a 
strenuous  advocate  of  a  paper  currency. 

A  writer,  identified  by  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  as  the 
Reverend  John  Wise  of  Chebacco,  entered  the  arena  in  the 
early  part  of  1721,  by  publishing  a  pamphlet  devoted  to  the 
advocacy  of  a  private  bank  entitled  “  A  word  of  comfort  to 
a  melancholy  country,  or  the  bank  of  credit  erected  in 
Massachusetts  fairly  defended  by  a  discovery  of  the  great 
benefit  accruing  by  it  to  the  the  [sic]  whole  province,  with  a 
remedy  for  recovering  a  civil  state  when  sinking  under 
desperation  by  defeat  of  their  bank  of  credit.  By  Amicus 
Patriae.  Boston,  1721.”  The  verbose  title  reflects  the 
contents  of  the  pamphlet.  Certain  propositions  are  laid 
down  and  certain  objections  are  submitted  by  a  controver¬ 
sialist  who  is  easily  overthrown  by  the  author.  The  style  is 


62 


Colonial  Currency 

quaint  and  gossipy,  but  nothing  of  material  value  is  to  be 
acquired  from  the  perusal  of  the  pamphlet. 


The  Warfare  Becomes  Personal 

The  appearance  of  the  “  Word  of  comfort  to  a  melancholy 
country”  led  to  an  attack  on  the  author  under  the  guise  of 
an  advertisement  to  which  he  felt  compelled  to  reply.  This 
was  the  explanation  of  the  genesis  of  “  A  friendly  check 
from  a  kind  relation  to  a  chief  cannoneer,  founded  on  a  late 
information  dated  N.E.  Castle  William,  1720-21.”  To  the 
protest  against  the  intermeddling  with  his  affairs  contained 
in  the  body  of  the  pamphlet,  the  writer  adds  a  letter  ad¬ 
dressed  to  his  son,  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of  his 
connection  with  a  loan  from  the  public  bank. 


A  New  Basis  for  a  Private  Bank 

The  spring  of  1721  saw  still  another  contribution  to  the 
discussion  in  the  shape  of  a  pamphlet  entitled  “  A  discourse 
shewing  that  the  real  first  cause  of  the  straits  and  difficulties 
of  this  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  is  its  extravagancy, 
not  paper  money.  By  Philopatria.  Boston,  1721.”  The 
author  contended  that  neither  those  who  attributed  the  evils 
of  the  situation  to  paper  money,  nor  those  who  asserted  that 
they  were  caused  by  a  lack  of  a  medium  of  exchange  were 
right.  The  true  cause  was  to  be  found  in  the  extravagant 
consumption  of  foreign  commodities.  The  emission  of  more 
bills  of  public  credit  would  not  cure  the  evil.  He  was 
opposed  to  the  emission  of  bills  on  the  security  of  land,  and 
advocated  a  system  of  paper  money  secured  by  produce  or 


Introduction 


63 

movables  capable  of  export.  He  asserted  that  merchants 
could  not  be  relied  upon  to  maintain  new  emissions  of  bills 
of  public  credit.  Nevertheless,  he  proceeded  to  recommend 
a  five-year  loan  of  province  bills  to  the  towns. 


Second  Part  of  South  Sea  Stock 

One  other  pamphlet  was  published  at  this  time  and 
with  the  mention  of  this  the  list  of  the  efforts  of  the 
pamphleteers,  who  were  stimulated  into  activity  by  the  con¬ 
dition  of  things  in  1720  and  1721,  must  close.  The  title  of 
this  publication  was,  “  The  second  part  of  South  Sea  stock, 
being  an  inquiry  into  the  original  of  province  bills  or  bills 
of  credit,  now  in  use  in  his  Majesty’s  plantations,  more 
especially  in  New  England,  with  some  thoughts  relating  to 
the  advantage  or  hurt  done  by  emitting  the  said  bills. 
Boston,  1721.”  The  writer  vigorously  attacked  the  paper 
money  of  the  times  and  as  the  title  indicates,  prosecuted  a 
historical  inquiry  into  its  origin.  He  reprinted  the  statutes 
under  which  the  first  emissions  were  made,  and  for  many 
years  this  pamphlet  was  the  only  printed  authority  to  which 
one  could  turn  for  this  information.  This  pamphlet  is  one 
of  the  few  among  the  publications  of  the  controversialists  of 
the  period  which  is  entitled  to  be  reproduced  through  the 
intrinsic  value  of  its  contents. 


Contraction  of  the  Currency 

The  alleged  basis  for  the  activity  of  the  promoters  of  the 
private  banks  at  this  time  was  the  scarcity  of  the  bills  which 
furnished  the  province  with  a  circulating  medium.  There 


64  Colonial  Currency 

were  at  one  time  treasurer’s  statements  which  would  have 
enabled  us  to  determine  authoritatively  what  foundation 
there  was  for  this  prevalent  opinion.  Tested  by  the  quota¬ 
tions  of  silver  it  was  not  well  grounded.  In  1719,  the 
author  of  “  The  present  melancholy  circumstances  of  the 
province  consider’d,”  etc.,  said,  “  When  Silver  Money  is 
sold  —  it  fetches  Eleven  or  Twelve  Shillings  an  Ounce  in 
Paper  Money!'  In  1720,  it  was,  according  to  the  author  of 
“  Some  proposals  to  benefit  the  province,”  “sold  at  12.?.  6d ’ 
or  13 s.  per  Ounce.”  It  is  true,  however,  that  between  these 
dates  the  amount  in  circulation  of  bills  of  public  credit  emit¬ 
ted  by  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  had  actually 
diminished.  The  bills  of  the  other  colonies  must  have  con¬ 
tributed  to  fill  this  vacancy.  Rhode  Island  alone  then  had 
outstanding  ,£40,000  loaned  to  inhabitants,  the  greater  part 
of  which  must  have  sought  circulation  elsewhere.  These 
outside  bills  were  taken  freely  in  trade,  and  their  influence 
must  have  been  felt  in  the  price  of  silver,  while  on  the  other 
hand,  a  diminution  of  the  bills  of  the  province  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  Bay  would  have  disclosed  itself  more  conspicuously 
among  those  who  had  payments  to  make  to  the  govern¬ 
ment,  whether  in  the  form  of  taxes  or  in  payments  of  loans. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  determine  the  amount  of  bills  of  public 
credit  emitted  on  a  given  year,  nor  is  there  any  trouble  in 
ascertaining  the  sum  fixed  upon  to  be  called  in  each  year 
by  taxation.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  settle  when  and 
how  the  various  loans  were  paid.  Hence,  in  any  calculation 
of  the  outstanding  bills  of  public  credit  of  the  province,  the 
only  thing  that  can  be  done  is  to  assume  that  the  loans  and 
the  taxes  were  paid  when  due.  It  is  certain  that  many  of 
these  loans  were  never  paid,  and  it  is  known  that  at  times 


Introduction 


65 

there  were  great  delinquencies  in  the  payment  of  the  taxes, 
but  there  are  no  means  of  ascertaining  except  upon  one  or 
two  specific  occasions,  how  far  these  causes  affected  the 
amount  of  currency  outstanding.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  whenever  large  payments  of  these  loans  were  being 
made  an  impression  of  a  shortage  in  the  circulating  me¬ 
dium  was  produced  which  resulted  in  a  call  for  more 
bills.  .£50,000  had  been  emitted  in  1711  to  Boston  mer¬ 
chants.  This  was  probably  all  of  it  repaid  by  1715.  To  fill 
the  place  of  the  actual  or  pending  withdrawal  of  this  amount 
from  circulation,  ,£50,000  was  loaned  to  inhabitants  in  1714. 
This  was  to  be  paid  back  by  instalments,  1716  to  1720 
inclusive.  ,£100,000  was  loaned  in  1716,  this  time  the  term 
being  for  ten  years.  By  1720,  £200,000  had  been  loaned 
out,  and  if  all  payments  had  been  duly  made  ,£100,000  had 
been  paid  back,  leaving  outstanding  besides  the  balance,  the 
surplus  emissions  for  current  expenses,  which,  through  the 
postponement  for  several  years  of  the  funds  for  calling  them 
in,  now  amounted  to  about  ,£130,000.  It  was  undoubtedly 
the  withdrawal  of  ,£50,000,  1716-1720^0  pay  back  the  loan 
of  1714,  that  stirred  up  the  controversialists.  The  great 
disturbance  caused  in  the  circulating  medium  by  these  trans¬ 
actions  militated  against  the  public  bank.  The  believers  in 
the  private  bank  argued  that  their  currency  was  not  subject 
to  these  fluctuations.  “  There  will  be  more  than  Threescore 
Thousand  Pounds  to  Pay,”  says  Colman,  “  and  nothing  to 
pay  it  with ;  for  the  Bills  come  in  for  the  Interest ;  how  then 
shall  the  Principal  be  paid.”  Again,  he  says  in  another 
place,  “  Pay  Day  will  come,  but  when  it  doth  come,  there  will 
be  nothing  wherewith  to  Pay.  Whereas  the  Private  Bank 
would  have  still  been  the  same,  the  Interest  Money  would 


66 


Colonial  Currency 

have  circulated  in  Trade,  and  would  not  have  been  dimin¬ 
ished  ;  the  Stock  would  neither  have  increased  nor  decreased, 
but  remained  the  same  intire  Sum  which  was  at  first  agreed 
on,  without  any  Addition  or  Diminution.’'  The  interest 
money  received  from  some,  at  least,  of  the  loans  was  re¬ 
garded  as  a  fund  to  be  applied  for  current  expenses.  To 
become  thus  useful  the  bills  must  have  been  reissued,  thus 
reducing  the  force  of  Colman’s  criticism,  but  it  is  evident 
that  under  the  then  existing  circumstances  such  arguments 
would  appeal  to  many  persons,  and  had  Colman  really  pre¬ 
sented  a  scheme  worthy  of  public  support,  he  might  have 
found  a  following  even  among  the  capitalists.  As  it  was 
the  supporters  of  the  public  bank  again  carried  the  day.  A 
cry  was  raised  among  the  borrowers,  that  the  demand  for  a 
circulating  medium  was  to  be  met  by  leaving  the  bills  loaned 
in  permanent  circulation ;  but  while  it  is  plain  that  this  was 
not  seriously  contemplated,  it  is  also  clear  that  great  obstacles 
were  placed  in  the  way  of  the  collection  of  the  ^100,000 
loan  when  it  fell  due.  Meantime,  however,  the  situation 
was  temporarily  relieved  by  the  emission  of  a  new  loan  of 
,£50,000.  As  a  still  further  measure  of  relief  it  was  provided 
that  taxes  might  be  paid  in  produce,  and  for  many  years 
thereafter  this  custom  prevailed. 

The  extravagance  of  life  in  Boston  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  source  of  much  comment  at  this  time,  and  we  find  recog¬ 
nition  of  its  existence  in  legislation.  Some  of  the  extrava¬ 
gance  of  the  poorer  people  was  explained  by  the  habit  of 
paying  laborers  partly  in  money,  partly  in  orders  on  shops. 
To  cash  these  orders  they  often  purchased  things  that  they 
did  not  need,  but  no  such  explanation  could  account  for  the 
extraordinary  expenses  imposed  by  the  custom  of  the  period 


Introduction 


67 

at  funerals.  It  was  stated  that  the  charges  on  these  occa¬ 
sions  had  become  so  extravagant,  especially  in  the  giving  of 
scarves,  that  it  worked  an  injury  to  the  province  and  tended 
to  impoverish  many  families.  It  was  made  a  penal  offence 
to  give  away  a  scarf  at  a  funeral  and  at  a  later  date  gloves, 
wine,  rum,  and  rings  were  added  to  the  prohibition. 

Action  of  Other  Colonies 

The  experience  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
successfully  meeting  its  current  expenses  with  bills  of  public 
credit  had  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  the  other 
colonies,  and  all  of  them  had  adopted  the  same  course, 
some  with  intelligent  restraint,  others  with  headlong  reck¬ 
lessness.  The  financial  situation  in  the  New  England 
colonies  was  controlled  by  Massachusetts  Bay,  although  so 
far  as  Connecticut  was  concerned,  the  emissions  of  that 
colony  were  for  many  years  moderate,  and  had  it  been 
possible  to  enforce  a  law  preventing  the  circulation  there 
of  the  bills  of  other  colonies,  there  would  have  been  at  this 
time  less  cause  of  apprehension  from  the  disturbance  caused 
there  by  an  excess  of  paper  money  than  in  the  other 
New  England  colonies.  In  the  South,  the  Carolinas  had 
taken  the  bit  in  the  mouth  and  had  already  reached 
a  condition  of  expansion  which  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  pamphleteers  in  Boston.  “  Suppose  silver  should  come 
to  Twenty  or  Thirty  Shillings  per  Ounce  as  it  is  at  Caro¬ 
lina,”  says  Colman  in  “The  distressed  condition  of  Boston 
once  more  considered.” 

The  influence  of  the  crown  during  all  this  period  was 
exerted  against  the  undue  expansion  of  paper  money  in  the 


68 


Colonial  Currency 

colonies,  so  that  where  there  were  governors  whose  appoint¬ 
ment  came  from  the  crown,  there  was  steady  pressure 
exerted  in  restraint  of  excessive  emissions  of  bills  of  public 
credit.  There  was  less  certainty  of  obedience  to  the  royal 
instructions  in  the  proprietary  and  charter  colonies,  and 
there  the  hard  money  men  had  to  rely  upon  the  common 
sense  of  the  legislators.  Even  in  the  provincial  govern¬ 
ments,  whose  royal  governors  were  disposed  to  follow  out 
instructions,  the  authority  of  the  legislative  bodies,  exercised 
through  their  control  over  appropriations  for  the  support  of 
the  government,  was  a  powerful  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the 
assemblies,  to  which  the  royal  governors  were  obliged  to 
succumb  in  emergencies.  This  was  especially  true  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Bay,  where  the  representatives  assumed  a  control 
over  the  disbursements  of  the  government  which  was  evi¬ 
dently  not  contemplated  by  the  charter,  and  which  in  effect 
greatly  reduced  the  power  of  the  governor  and  council. 
Unless  they  would  see  the  wheels  of  the  government  stopped, 
the  council  were  often  obliged  to  approve  emissions  in  vio¬ 
lation  of  royal  orders  and  the  governor  was  obliged  to  wink 
at  that  which  he  knew  must  draw  upon  him  the  disapproval 
of  the  board  of  trade  and  the  privy  council. 


A  Decade  of  Quiet  in  Massachusetts 

The  activity  of  the  promoters  of  the  private  bank  received 
a  set-back  in  March,  1721,  when  the  loan  to  towns  of 
^50,000  which  has  already  been  referred  to  was  made. 
The  discussion  was  for  a  time  entirely  abandoned  in  Boston, 
the  next  pamphlet  on  our  list  being  a  Philadelphia  pro¬ 
duction  which  did  not  appear  until  1729.  In  that  year 


Introduction 


69 

Benjamin  Franklin  published  in  Philadelphia  a  tract  entitled, 
“A  modest  enquiry  into  the  nature  and  necessity  of  a  paper 
currency.” 

This  was  followed  by  the  publication  in  1731  of  a 
pamphlet  entitled  “Trade  and  commerce  inculcated  with 
proposals  for  the  bringing  gold  and  silver  into  the  country. 
Boston,  1731.”  The  writer  indicates  in  his  title  the  side  that 
he  takes  in  the  controversy.  His  discussion  of  the  subject 
is  involved,  and  his  ideas,  if  he  had  any,  are  buried  under  a 
volume  of  words. 

In  the  year  1733  there  was  published  another  pamphlet 
entitled  “  Money  the  sinews  of  trade.  The  state  of  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  considered  with  respect  to 
its  trade  for  want  of  a  medium  of  exchange  wherewith  to 
manage.  By  a  lover  of  his  country —  Boston  N.E.”  The 
writer  attacks  the  Rhode  Island  emissions  and  submits  a 
project  for  a  private  bank.  This  was  to  be  a  copartnership. 
The  bills  were  to  be  received  by  agreement  among  the 
partners  on  the  basis  at  which  the  bills  of  public  credit 
then  circulated.  Their  circulation  among  others  was  to  be 
enforced  by  a  species  of  boycott  on  those  who  should  refuse 
to  receive  them.  The  bills  were  to  be  based  upon  land 
security  and  the  bank  was  to  be  not  only  a  bank  of  issue 
but  also  of  deposit  and  discount. 

The  entire  situation  relative  to  the  currency  in  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  underwent  about  this  time 
a  radical  change,  and  the  pressure  of  the  privy  council 
for  some  sort  of  restraint  upon  emissions  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  became  so  far  operative  as  to  bring  about  an  actual 
reduction  of  the  bills  of  the  province  in  circulation.  Be¬ 
ginning  in  1726  and  covering  the  next  fifteen  years,  there 


70  Colonial  Currency 

was  a  progressive  reduction  of  the  sum  in  circulation  which 
ultimately  amounted  to  fully  one-half  of  that  which  was  out 
in  1726.  The  ^100,000  loan  expired  in  1727.  It  was  not 
fully  paid  up  at  that  time,  but  pursuing  the  same  policy 
as  had  heretofore  prevailed,  a  new  emission  was  made  of 
^60,000  which  was  loaned  to  towns  to  be  repaid  1734-1738. 
Pressure  was  brought  to  bear  by  the  privy  council  to 
prevent  the  extension  of  the  ;£  100,000  loan  and  also  to 
prevent  any  new  loans  of  the  same  sort,  but  the  assembly 
succeeded  after  a  protracted  contest  in  securing  the  neces¬ 
sary  approval  to  the  ^60,000  loan. 


Belcher’s  Administration 

In  1730,  Governor  Belcher  arrived  in  Boston.  He  had 
been  in  London  and  was  determined  to  carry  out  the 
royal  instructions.  To  meet  the  various  difficulties  inter¬ 
posed  by  the  assemblymen  to  the  efforts  to  check  the 
emissions  of  bills  of  public  credit,  instructions  had  been 
issued  which  prevented  emissions  by  mere  legislative  re¬ 
solves  ;  which  required  that  each  act  authorizing  an  emission 
should  contain  a  clause  making  it  inoperative  until  it  should 
have  been  approved  by  the  board  of  trade ;  which  com¬ 
pelled  the  governor  to  exert  his  influence  in  procuring  the 
passage  of  tax  levies  so  that  the  bills  which  had  been  issued 
should  be  retired  according  to  the  terms  of  the  funds  estab¬ 
lished  at  the  time  of  the  issue ;  and  which  limited  the  amount 
of  bills  of  public  credit  which  might  be  issued  annually  to 
^30,000,  the  same  to  be  called  in  the  next  year.  With 
Belcher  for  governor,  the  colonists  had  staring  them  in  the 


Introduction 


7 1 

face  the  impending  withdrawal  of  their  circulating  medium, 
with  no  visible  substitute  at  hand. 

It  is  probable  that  at  first  the  extent  of  the  threatened 
conflict  was  not  appreciated.  Evasions  of  royal  instructions 
had  been  tolerated  and  the  colonists  had  been  successful  in 
maintaining  their  emissions  of  bills  of  public  credit,  but  the 
time  had  now  come  when  a  governor  was  in  power  who  was 
a  strict  constructionist,  seeking  for  approval  in  England  and 
acting  under  instructions  so  framed  as  to  overcome  the 
evasions  of  the  past.  Notwithstanding  the  consternation 
and  dismay  of  the  people,  the  instructions  were  practically 
enforced  and  for  a  time  the  wheels  of  the  government  were 
nearly  clogged. 


Connecticut  Starts  a  Land  Bank 

We  have  seen  that  after  eight  years  of  rest,  the  pamphlet 
discussion  was  renewed  in  another  colony  in  1729.  So  also 
the  efforts  to  establish  a  private  bank  were  transferred  the 
same  year  to  another  field  than  Massachusetts  Bay.  A 
petition  was  filed  at  the  October  session  of  the  general 
assembly  of  Connecticut,  in  behalf  of  a  company  styled  the 
New  London  Company  for  Trade,  praying  that  a  patent 
might  be  granted  which  should  enable  the  company  to 
carry  on  its  business  according  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant 
into  which  the  members  had  entered  among  themselves. 
Among  other  things  asked  for  they  prayed  “  That  our  Com¬ 
pany  may  be  allowed  to  emitt  bills  for  currency  upon  our 
own  credit  as  we  may  see  occasion  at  any  time  for  pro¬ 
moting  our  trade.”  This  petition  was  refused,  but  in  1732 
a  second  petition  to  the  assembly  was  filed  in  which  the 


7  2  Colonial  Currency 

memorialists  prayed  to  be  put  in  a  politic  capacity  as  a 
society  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  trade  and  commerce, 
for  encouraging  the  fishery,  etc.  This  petition  was  relieved 
of  the  clause  granting  the  company  power  to  emit  bills,  and 
was  successful.  The  memorialists  were  declared  and  consti¬ 
tuted  to  be  for  the  future  one  society  in  fact  and  name,  by  the 
name  of  “The  New  London  Society  United  for  Trade  and 
Commerce.”  They  at  once  proceeded  to  emit  bills,  which 
instead  of  being  declared  to  be  “  in  value  equal  to  money,” 
like  the  bills  of  public  credit  then  in  use  were  said  to  be  “  in 
value  equal  to  silver  at  sixteen  shillings  pr.  ounce,  or  to  bills 
of  public  credit  of  this  or  the  neighboring  governments.”  In 
other  words,  they  were  put  on  a  par  with  the  bills  then  in 
circulation.  As  soon  as  the  governor  of  the  colony  learned 
what  was  being  done  under  cover  of  the  charter,  he  sum¬ 
moned  a  special  session  of  the  assembly  and  secured  the 
necessary  legislation  to  annul  the  charter  and  wind  up  the 
affairs  of  the  company.  Meantime,  Connecticut,  so  far  as 
the  emissions  of  the  colony  itself  were  concerned,  had  ex¬ 
ercised  great  restraint,  but  while  thus  controlling  her  own 
emissions  and  preventing  individuals  from  emitting  private 
bills  in  evasion  of  her  laws,  the  colony  had  suffered  from 
the  circulation  within  its  limits  of  bills  of  public  credit  of 
other  governments. 


Attempts  at  Resumption 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  author  of  the  “  Project 
for  emitting  an  hundred  thousand  pounds,”  etc.,  had  con¬ 
ceived  of  a  bill  in  which  the  value  was  defined  to  be  equal 
to  silver  at  seventeen  and  one  half  penny  weight  to  the  piece 


Introduction 


73 


of  eight.  The  idea  of  a  fixed  rate  of  silver  on  the  face  of  the 
bill  was  accepted  by  others  about  this  time  as  a  remedy  for 
the  decline  of  the  bills.  The  bills  of  the  New  London 
Society  United  for  Trade  and  Commerce  were  stated  to  be 
in  value  equal  to  silver  at  sixteen  shillings  per  ounce.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  years  1728  and  1729  efforts  were  made  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Bay  to  secure  the  emission  of  bills  of  public  credit, 
to  be  loaned  to  subscribers.  The  details  of  the  proposed 
emission  have  escaped  us,  but  later  references  show  that  the 
bills  to  be  emitted  were  to  have  a  value  stated  in  a  fixed 
rate  for  silver,  and  the  loans  were  to  be  repaid  by  the  sub¬ 
scribers  in  instalments  in  coin,  thus  facilitating  a  resumption 
of  specie  payments.  In  June,  1731,  Jacob  Wendell  and 
others  sought  to  secure  the  passage  in  Massachusetts  Bay 
of  an  act  of  similar  import  to  this.  These  attempts  at 
resumption  are  interesting.  They  foreshadow  the  new 
tenor  bill  with  its  value  expressed  in  a  fixed  rate  of  silver, 
and  they  show  that  it  was  believed  by  many  of  the  hard 
money  men  that  resumption  could  be  effected  on  the 
instalment  plan. 


Rhode  Island  Bills 

Rhode  Island,  like  Connecticut,  had  an  elective  governor 
and,  like  Connecticut,  was  free  from  the  danger  of  coercion 
arising  from  the  desire  of  the  head  of  the  government  to 
secure  approval  from  the  power  which  gave  him  his  appoint-, 
ment  and  could  at  will  remove  him  from  his  office.  Unlike 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  at  a  very  early  stage,  conceived 
the  idea  that  the  government  could  be  supported  by  the 
interest  to  be  received  from  loans  of  bills  of  public  credit, 


74  Colonial  Currency 

and  there  being  no  power  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the 
plan,  bills  of  public  credit  far  in  excess  of  the  needs  of  the 
colony  were  emitted  and  loaned  to  the  inhabitants.  /  The 
void  in  the  currency  in  Massachusetts  Bay  caused  by  the 
compulsory  reduction  of  the  amount  in  circulation  was 
probably  more  than  filled  by  these  Rhode  Island  bills,  and 
when  it  was  fully  appreciated  that  Belcher  proposed  to 
enforce  the  royal  instructions  and  by  degrees  bring  about  a 
reduction  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  bills  to  ,£30,000,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1733,  proposed  to  fill  the  gap  by  an  emission  of 
,£104,000,  ,£100,000  of  which  were  loaned  to  the  public. 


Merchants’  Notes 

The  announcement  of  this  proposed  emission  produced 
much  excitement  in  Boston.  An  agreement  not  to  receive 
Rhode  Island  bills  was  entered  into  by  some  of  the  Boston 
merchants,  and  then  about  a  hundred  of  them  organized 
themselves  into  a  company,  the  purpose  of  which  was,  first, 
to  prevent  the  circulation  of  the  Rhode  Island  bills,  and, 
second,  to  supply  a  currency  to  take  the  place  of  the 
withdrawn  bills  of  public  credit,  which  currency  should  also 
be  helpful  through  the  method  of  its  redemption  in  bringing 
the  business  of  the  province  to  a  specie  basis.  ,£110,000 
of  these  notes  were  issued,  in  which  the  value  was  expressed 
in  ounces,  pennyweights  and  grains  of  silver,  the  rate  on 
which  the  notes  were  based  being  19^.  an  ounce.  The  sub¬ 
scribers  who  borrowed  these  notes  entered  into  obligations 
to  pay  their  loans  in  silver  or  gold,  in  annual  instalments, 
while  each  of  the  notes  was  redeemable  in  coin,  in  three 


Introduction 


75 

instalments,  three-tenths  in  three  years,  three-tenths  in  six 
years,  and  four-tenths  in  ten  years. 

The  notes  of  the  Boston  merchants  found  a  ready  circula¬ 
tion,  but  the  agreement  not  to  receive  Rhode  Island  bills 
soon  broke  down,  and  the  effect  upon  the  circulating  medium 
of  this  large  emission  was  to  contribute  to  the  causes  which 
produced  a  further  rise  in  the  price  of  silver.  This  in  turn 
caused  the  Merchants’  notes  to  be  hoarded  and  they  dis¬ 
appeared  from  circulation. 


Newspaper  Controversy 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  formation  of  the  Connecticut 
bank  and  the  preliminary  discussion  concerning  the  emission 
by  the  Boston  merchants  of  their  notes  in  1733  did  not 
call  forth  any  pamphlets  specially  devoted  to  these  subjects; 
but  while  the  writers  did  not  record  the  details  of  the  experi¬ 
ments  in  pamphlet  form  the  columns  of  the  contemporary 
press  furnish  all  the  information  that  could  be  desired  con- 
•  cerning  the  Merchants’  notes,  and  also  contribute  a  volumin¬ 
ous  discussion  of  the  situation  which  had  there  been  more 

« 

time  for  deliberation  would  doubtless  have  assumed  the 
pamphlet  shape.  The  importance  of  the  question,  the 
novelty  of  the  experiment,  the  evidence  contained  therein 
of  a  growing  belief  that  the  province  could  and  ought  to 
resume  specie  payments,  and  the  evident  interest  taken  in 
the  matter  by  the  Boston  merchants,  all  combine  to  render 
it  desirable  that  some  selections  from  this  newspaper  dis¬ 
cussion  should  be  included  in  this  series.  It  happens  that 
the  file  of  the  News  Letter  at  the  Boston  Public  Library, 


76  Colonial  Currency 

4 

covering  the  years  of  the  most  importance  to  us  in  this  con¬ 
nection,  is  remarkably  full,  but  its  pages  contain  but  few 
communications  relating  to  the  currency  question.  We 
can  turn,  however,  to  the  Weekly  Journal,  the  Weekly 
Rehearsal  and  to  an  occasional  copy  of  the  Gazette,  whose 
columns  were  thrown  open  to  the  disputants. 

It  is  not  important  that  any  detailed  analysis  of  these 
articles  should  be  given.  They  were  in  part  devoted  to 
a  general  discussion  of  the  probability  of  the  proposed 
redemption  of  the  notes  in  coin  by  instalments  proving  to 
be  effective,  and  in  part  to  arguments  concerning  defects 
suggested  in  the  scheme.  Many  of  them  were  ephemeral 
in  character  and  had  but  a  temporary  value. 

The  publications  dealing  with  the  currency  question 
down  to  the  year  1720  which  we  have  been  considering 
are  of  interest  not  only  because  they  register  the  gropings  of 
minds  absolutely  unacquainted  with  the  subject  which  they 
are  discussing,  but  also  because  they  shed  light  upon  the 
history  of  the  colony  at  a  time  when  records  are  scant, 
and  at  a  period  when  historians  through  lack  of  the 
stimulus  of  important  events  have  neglected  details  of 
colonial  history.  As  we  approach  the  middle  of  the  cen¬ 
tury  in  our  chronological  advance,  we  traverse  ground 
more  fully  treated  of.  The  questions  at  issue  between 
the  private  and  the  public  bank  become  more  important, 
the  events  more  startling,  and  among  the  pamphlets  we 
occasionally  find  one  of  real  value.  With  this  change, 
however,  comes  an  increase  in  the  length  of  the  pamphlets 
themselves  which  will  not  permit  any  attempt  at  descriptive 
analysis  in  other  than  the  briefest  of  terms. 


Introduction 


77 


New  Hampshire  Notes 

The  example  of  the  Boston  merchants  in  floating  their 
notes  stimulated  the  traders  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
to  a  similar  experiment.  A  local  company  was  formed  there 
in  1734,  which  emitted  notes  payable  in  1746,  in  gold  or  silver 
at  the  then  current  price,  or  in  passable  bills  of  credit  on 
the  provinces  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts,  and 
on  the  colonies  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  These 
notes  bore  interest  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent,  per  annum. 
This  experiment  was  ephemeral  and  made  no  lasting  im¬ 
pression.  No  pamphleteer  recorded  its  story  in  detail  and 
no  trace  of  its  existence  has  been  found  in  the  registries  of 
deeds.  Specimens  of  notes,  however,  preserved  in  our 
museums  bear  witness  to  its  actual  existence. 


Merchants’  Notes  Attacked 

In  1736,  a  pamphlet  was  published  bearing  the  title 
“  The  melancholy  state  of  the  province  considered  in  a  let¬ 
ter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston  to  his  friend  in  the  coun¬ 
try.  Printed  in  the  year  1736.”  This  tract  was  evidently 
written  while  the  assembly  was  discussing  the  question 
whether  special  legislation  was  necessary  to  drive  the  Mer¬ 
chants’  notes  out  of  circulation  and  while  they  were  de¬ 
liberating  whether  it  was  desirable  to  make  compulsory 
provision  for  the  redemption  of  the  notes.  The  tone  of  the 
discussion  was  hostile  to  the  merchants  but  the  whole  mat¬ 
ter  was  dropped  in  the  spring  of  1736,  by  which  time  it  is 
probable  that  there  was  none  of  the  notes  in  circulation. 
The  question  must  have  been  settled  by  the  time  that  the 


78  Colonial  Currency 

\ 

pamphlet  appeared,  but  the  author  at  least  had  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  putting  in  print  an  attack  on  the  merchants  who 
had  emitted  the  notes,  whom  he  charged  with  being  instru¬ 
mental  in  causing  the  premium  which,  through  the  rise  in 
silver,  they  naturally  bore.  He  could  not  understand  why 
laws  could  not  be  passed  making  it  possible  to  settle  obliga¬ 
tions  drawn  payable  in  Merchants’  notes  with  ordinary  bills 
of  public  credit. 


Plan  for  New  Form  of  Notes 

Another  pamphlet  was  published  the  same  year  which 
was  entitled  “  A  letter  to  a  member  of  the  honourable 
house  of  representatives  on  the  present  state  of  the  bills 
of  credit.  Boston.  Printed  in  the  year  1736.”  The  author 
advocated  the  emission  of  new  bills  of  public  credit,  through 
which  he  hoped  that  resumption  of  specie  payments  might 
be  facilitated.  The  value  of  the  new  bills  was  to  be  ex¬ 
pressed  in  a  fixed  rate  of  silver.  They  were  to  be  loaned  to 
persons  who  would  agree  to  pay  off  the  loans  in  silver  or 
gold  in  ten  annual  instalments.  The  bills  were  to  have  the 
legal  tender  function  and  their  redemption,  one  half  coin 
and  one  half  new  bills,  was  to  begin  at  the  end  of  five  years. 
To  make  the  plan  effective  it  was  proposed  to  forbid  the 
circulation  of  the  bills  of  other  governments.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  this  pamphlet  was  from  the  pen  of  Governor 
Hutchinson,  then  a  young  man  just  entering  political  life, 
and  the  plan  proposed  was  practically  the  same  as  one 
reported  to  the  council  by  the  father  of  the  governor  in 
November,  1734. 


Introduction 


79 

The  proponents  of  the  doctrine  that  land  furnished  a 
better  basis  for  a  bank  than  money  found  an  advocate  of 
their  theory  in  the  author  of  a  pamphlet  published  in 
1 737,  entitled  “A  proposal  to  supply  the  trade  with  a 
medium  of  exchange,  and  to  sink  the  bills  of  other  govern¬ 
ments.  Boston,  Printed  in  the  year  1737,”  whose  method 
of  sinking  the  bills  of  other  governments  was  for  the 
partners  in  the  bank  to  discredit  them. 


Old  and  New  Tenor  Notes 

This  pamphlet  came  out  about  the  same  time  that  an 
emission  of  bills  of  public  credit  of  a  new  tenor,  stating  the 
value  in  silver  at  a  fixed  rate,  was  put  upon  the  market. 
From  that  date  all  bills  in  which,  following  the  phraseology 
of  the  bills  originally  emitted  by  the  colony,  the  value  was 
defined  in  the  words  “  This  Bill  .  .  .  shall  be  in  value 
equal  to  money”  were  known  as  “old  tenor”  bills.  On  the 
other  hand  the  new  bills  were  immediately  dubbed  “new 
tenor,”  and  thereafter  all  bills  in  which  the  value  was 
expressed  in  silver  at  a  fixed  rate  were  classified  under  this 
generic  title.  There  were,  however,  in  the  course  of  events 
three  forms  of  these  new  tenor  bills  and  they  came  to  have 
special  designations,  being  severally  known  as  “first  new 
tenor,”  “  second  new  tenor,”  and  “  third  new  tenor  ”  in  the 
order  of  their  respective  emissions.  The  new  tenor  firsts 
had  their  value  defined  in  ounces  or  fractions  of  ounces  of 
silver  at  the  rate  of  6s.  8d.  per  ounce,  or  in  a  proportionate 
amount  of  gold.  The  ratio  of  the  relative  prices  of  the  two 
metals  as  given  in  the  bill  was  one  to  fourteen  and  seven- 


8o 


Colonial  Currency 

tenths.  Each  bill  was  a  legal  tender  to  the  extent  of  its 
denominational  value  and  if  outstanding  after  December  31, 
1742,  its  redemption  in  silver  by  the  province  was  pledged. 
In  the  tax-levies  and  in  ordinary  payments  it  was  ordered 
that  these  bills  should  be  received  on  the  basis  of  one  of  the 
new  issue  for  three  of  the  old.  Christened  at  first  simply 
“  new  tenor,”  the  bills  after  the  emission  of  a  second  form 
of  the  new  tenor  bills  were  for  a  short  time  called  “  middle 
tenor  ”  bills  and  in  view  of  their  relative  value  to  old  tenor 
bills  in  payments  to  the  treasurer,  were  sometimes  called 
“  three-fold  tenor.” 

It  is  obvious  that  the  attempt  to  float  a  currency  having 
for  its  base  as  a  unit  the  ounce  of  silver  valued  at  6s.  8d. 
must  have  encountered  serious  trouble.  There  was  no  bill 
below  the  twenty  shilling  bill,  the  value  of  which  was  ex¬ 
pressed  in  shillings  alone.  The  ounce  was  6^.  8d.,  the  half 
ounce  35'.  4^.,  and  so  on.  In  January,  1742,  the  second  set 
of  bills  of  the  new  form  was  emitted,  still  based  upon  silver 
valued  at  6s.  8d.  per  ounce,  but  the  difficulty  referred  to 
above  was  overcome  by  substituting  the  shilling  for  the 
ounce  as  the  unit  upon  which  the  denominational  values 
were  based,  the  representative  weights  at  this  price  being 
expressed  upon  the  face  of  the  bill.  These  bills  were  by 
law  made  receivable  in  all  transactions  on  the  basis  of  one 
for  four  of  old  tenor.  Owing  to  the  redemption  clause  in 
the  act  of  emission  of  the  first  new  tenors,  the  bills  emitted 
under  this  act  all  disappeared,  leaving  the  seconds  in  circu¬ 
lation.  The  seconds  later  acquired  the  title  “  middle  tenor,” 
through  the  emission  in  June,  1744,  of  a  third  set  of  bills  of 
the  new  form  which  have  been  spoken  of  indifferently  by 
writers  as  the  “third  new  tenor”  or  the  “last  tenor”  bills. 


Introduction 


8 1 


The  ratio  of  these  new  bills  to  old  tenor  remained  one  to 
four,  but  the  silver  price  was  changed  to  7 s.  6d.  per  ounce. 
This  necessitated  a  change  in  the  weights  of  silver  in  the 
several  bills,  and  also,  in  order  to  preserve  the  ratio  of 
silver  to  gold,  a  change  in  the  price  of  gold  expressed  on 
the  face  of  the  bill.  In  1750,  during  the  process  of  redemp¬ 
tion  of  outstanding  bills,  and  resumption  of  specie  pay¬ 
ments,  a  moderate  quantity  of  small  bills,  in  the  nature 
of  fractional  currency,  were  issued.  They  were  of  little 
importance,  but  are  sometimes  referred  to  by  writers. 

This  detailed  statement  of  the  several  species  of  bills 
emitted  during  this  period  has  carried  us  far  in  advance 
of  the  date  of  the  last  publication  which  we  had  under  con¬ 
sideration.  It  may,  indeed,  at  first  sight  seem  to  have  been 
unnecessary,  but  the  fact  is  that  these  various  emissions  are 
referred  to  and  discussed  in  the  pamphlets  which  are  about 
to  be  mentioned,  and  one  may  at  any  time  meet  with  state¬ 
ments  on  their  pages  the  full  comprehension  of  which  de¬ 
pends  upon  some  knowledge  of  what  constituted  the  differ¬ 
ences  in  these  various  bills.  The  several  emissions  of  paper 
money  with  which  we  are  dealing  may  be  classified  under 
the  different  tenors  which  have  been  described,  with  the 
exception  that  in  1722  the  disappearance  of  the  copper  coins 
left  the  inhabitants  of  the  province  without  small  change, 
there  having  been  no  small  bills  emitted  theretofore,  and  at 
that  time  a  few  parchment  tokens  were  put  forth  which 
temporarily  served  their  purpose  but  were  ultimately  sup¬ 
planted  by  a  fractional  currency  regularly  emitted  in  con¬ 
nection  with  bills  of  public  credit. 


VOL.  I  —  6 


82 


Colonial  Currency 


Renewed  Attempts  at  Resumption 

It  has  been  said  that  in  1729,  again  in  1731,  and  still  again 
in  1734  ineffectual  efforts  were  put  forth  to  secure  emissions 
of  bills  of  public  credit,  on  which  the  value  should  be  stated 
in  silver  at  a  fixed  rate  per  ounce,  which  bills  should  be 
loaned  to  subscribers  who  should  agree  to  pay  back  their 
loans  by  instalments  in  coin.  The  new  tenor  bills  incorpo¬ 
rated  so  much  of  this  plan  as  was  involved  in  the  fixed  rate  per 
ounce  of  silver,  but  these  bills  were  regularly  emitted  by  the 
province  for  current  expenses  and  were  not  put  out  on  sub¬ 
scription  loans.  Their  legal  tender  function  and  the  provision 
that  they  should  be  received  in  all  payments  on  the  basis  of 
one  for  three  or  four  of  old  tenor,  as  the  case  might  be, 
caused  them  to  circulate  freely  on  these  ratios,  and  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  it  was  the  success  of  the  first  new  tenor 
notes  which  revived  the  hopes  of  the  hard  money  men  about 
this  time  and  caused  them  to  exert  renewed  efforts  for  a 
subscription  loan  to  be  repaid  by  the  subscribers  in  coin. 
It  was  proposed  in  1738  that  ,£60,000  of  bills  declared  to 
be  in  value  equal  to  silver  coin  at  the  rate  of  six  shillings 
and  eight  pence  the  ounce  and  gold  coin  at  the  rate  of  four 
pounds  eighteen  shillings  the  ounce  Troy  weight,  should 
be  loaned  for  ten  years  to  subscribers  who  would  agree  to 
pay  annually  for  ten  years  ,£105  in  silver  or  gold  coin  for 
each  ,£1000  in  bills  borrowed,  the  whole  scheme  to  fail 
unless  £*30,000  were  subscribed. 

For  a  time  the  promoters  of  this  scheme  for  resuming 
specie  payments  were  hopeful  of  success,  but  the  limit  of 
the  subscriptions  that  could  be  obtained  seemed  to  have 
been  reached  when  about  two  thirds  of  the  necessary 


Introduction 


83 

amount  had  been  secured.  Undismayed  by  their  failure, 
the  hard  money  men  attacked  the  subject  again  the  next 
year,  but  this  time  were  compelled  to  abandon  it  altogether, 
convinced,  when  less  than  one  half  of  the  sum  required  had 
been  subscribed,  that  success  was  impossible.  While  the 
scheme  was  under  consideration  it  was  vigorously  attacked 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  “Some  observations  on  the  scheme 
projected  for  emitting  ^60,000  in  bills  of  a  new  tenor  to  be 
redeemed  with  silver  and  gold,  showing  the  various  opera¬ 
tions  of  these  bills,  and  their  tendency  to  hurt  the  publick 
interest.  In  a  letter  from  a  merchant  in  Boston  to  his 
friend  in  the  country.  Boston.  1738.”  There  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  the  author  of  this  pamphlet  was  Hugh 
Vance  or  Vans,  as  the  name  is  often  spelled. 

Dr.  Douglass  Takes  a  Hand 

This  brought  forth  a  reply  from  Dr.  William  Douglass, 
a  pronounced  hard  money  man,  who  was  opposed  to  large 
emissions  of  bills  of  public  credit,  who  thought  the  legal 
tender  function  of  the  bills  worked  badly,  and  who  believed 
that  a  paper  credit  might  be  founded  upon  a  silver  specie 
basis,  but  private  bills  would  probably  work  better  than  pub¬ 
lic  bills.  His  main  conclusion  was  that  relief  was  to  be 
found  in  a  forced  reduction  of  the  bills  in  circulation.  The 
pamphlet  of  Dr.  Douglass  was  entitled  “  An  essay  concern¬ 
ing  silver  and  paper  currencies,  more  especially  with  regard 
to  the  British  colonies  in  New  England.  Boston.”  The 
association  of  Douglass’s  name  with  a  later  and  more  vig¬ 
orous  pamphlet  has  tended  to  obscure  the  merits  of  this 
earlier  production. 


84 


Colonial  Currency 

} 

The  Assembly  Calls  for  Help 

By  1739,  Governor  Belcher’s  continuous  efforts  to  carry 
out  the  royal  instructions  relative  to  the  contraction  of  the 
currency  had  brought  about  such  a  reduction  of  the  bills 
of  public  credit  of  Massachusetts  Bay  that  the  people  were 
restless  and  the  legislators  ready  to  resort  to  any  step  to 
remedy  the  situation.  Notwithstanding  this  reduction  in 
the  circulating  medium  furnished  by  the  province,  silver 
had  advanced  to  twenty-seven  shillings  an  ounce.  Rhode 
Island  had  followed  up  the  ,£104,000  emitted  in  1733  with 
£100,000  in  1738,  and  Connecticut  had  joined  in  the  fray, 
thus  maintaining,  and  probably  increasing,  the  amount  of 
bills  actually  in  circulation  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  These  outside  bills  were  not  legal  tenders  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  and  were  not  receivable  there  in  payment  of  taxes 
and  other  government  dues,  but  the  function  that  they 
exercised  in  contributing  to  the  perplexities  of  the  situation 
was  realized  by  many,  and  propositions  to  secure  legislation 
prohibiting  their  circulation  within  the  province  cropped 
out  from  time  to  time.  Public  opinion  as  to  what  was 
needed  was  not,  however,  sharply  defined,  and  in  the  year 
1 73 9,  the  assembly  appointed  a  committee  which  was  author¬ 
ized  to  receive  during  the  recess  of  the  court  any  schemes 
or  proposals  from  any  persons  whomsoever  for  furnishing  a 
further  medium  of  trade  in  such  a  way  and  manner  as  that 
the  value  thereof  might  be  maintained.  In  response  to 
this  John  Read,  a  Boston  merchant  and  a  hard  money 
man,  proposed  a  plan  for  depositing  a  fund  of  silver  and 
then  emitting  four  times  as  much  in  bills,  these  bills  to  be 
loaned  out  at  five  per  cent,  interest  payable  in  silver,  the 


Introduction 


85 

silver  that  thus  came  in  as  interest  was  to  be  retained  and  a 
corresponding  amount  in  bills  was  to  be  destroyed.  Thus 
a  fund  of  silver  would  be  accumulated. 

Richard  Fry,  an  Englishman  who  had  come  over  here 
to  take  charge  of  a  paper  mill,  and  who  was  then  held  in 
Boston  jail,  a  prisoner  for  debt,  encouraged  by  the  latitude 
of  the  appeal,  presented  a  memorial  dated  at  Boston  jail, 
in  which  he  advocated  a  currency  which  should  serve  until 
gold  and  silver  could  be  introduced.  This  memorial  he 
caused  to  be  printed.  It  was  entitled  “A  scheme  for  a 
paper  currency.” 


The  Discourse 

Douglass’s  essay  was  followed  by  the  publication,  accord¬ 
ing  to  Sabin,  in  London,  conjecturally  in  1739,  of  a  pamphlet 
by  the  same  author  entitled  “  A  discourse  concerning  the 
currencies  of  the  British  plantations  in  America.  Especially 
with  regard  to  their  paper  money  :  More  particularly  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.” 
This  pamphlet  is  by  far  the  most  noted  of  any  that  appeared 
in  the  currency  discussion.  It  was  printed,  or  reprinted  in 
Boston  in  1740,  in  London  in  1751,  and  again  in  1857,  and 
was  reprinted  by  the  American  Economic  Association  in 
“Economic  Studies  ”  in  1897.  In  the  Boston  edition  for 
the  first  time  appeared  a  postscript  which  was  really  of  a 
later  date,  and  will  be  referred  to  in  its  proper  chronological 
sequence.  The  pamphlet  represented  the  views  of  a  hard 
money  man  and  contained  much  information. 


86 


Colonial  Currency 


A  New  Plan 

A  curious  proposition  was  submitted  in  1740  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  “  A  letter  relating  to  a  medium  of  trade, 
in  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Boston,  1740.” 
The  plan  suggested  involved  the  emission  of  joint  notes  by 
the  province  and  a  company  of  merchants.  The  notes  were 
to  be  furnished  to  the  company  by  the  province ;  were  to  be 
valued  in  silver  at  twenty  shillings  an  ounce ;  and  were  to 
be  paid  off  in  ten  annual  instalments  in  silver.  The  author 
conceived  apparently  of  a  mixed  public  and  private  bank. 

The  Land  Bank  and  the  Silver  Bank 

Still  another  scheme  submitted  in  response  to  the  appeal 
of  the  committee  of  the  general  court,  was  one  based  upon 
the  Land  Bank  outlined  by  John  Colman  in  1720  in  “The 
distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  once  more  Con¬ 
sidered.”  The  original  plan  of  a  company  which  should 
emit  bills  to  subscribers  on  adequate  land  security,  was 
amended  after  discussion  and  a  form  of  bill  was  adopted 
which  expressed  the  value  in  silver  at  six  shillings  eight 
pence  per  ounce.  The  bill  was  not,  however,  payable  until 
twenty  years  after  date,  and  then  it  might  be  redeemed  in 
the  produce  or  manufactures  enumerated  in  the  scheme  of 
the  bank.  It  will  be  recognized  at  once  that  this  last 
suggestion  was  probably  derived  from  “  Some  proposals  to 
benefit  the  province,”  a  pamphlet  published  in  1720,  which 
has  already  been  described.  The  articles  enumerated  in  the 
scheme  were  like  those  mentioned  in  that  pamphlet,  such  as 
“  would  prevent  importation  or  that  was  good  for  exporta- 


Introduction’ 


87 

tion,”  the  underlying  idea  being  to  encourage  home  industry. 
The  subscribers  to  the  scheme  simply  agreed  to  borrow  from 
the  company  the  amount  of  their  subscriptions  in  bills  of 
the  company  and  to  receive  the  bills  in  all  payments,  trade 
and  business. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  condition  of  the  province  which  had 
led  the  assembly  to  call  for  plans  of  relief  of  any  sort  from 
any  person  whomsoever,  it  will  be  realized  that  Colman’s 
opportunity  had  come.  His  Land  Bank  was  converted 
through  the  clause  in  the  bills  authorizing  their  payment 
in  certain  articles  of  produce  or  manufacture  into  a  scheme 
for  encouraging  home  industry  as  well  as  a  bank  of  issue  on 
land  security  and  became  known  as  the  Land  Bank  and  Manu¬ 
factory  Scheme.  Under  that  title  subscription  papers  were 
spread  broadside  over  the  province  and  hundreds  of  persons, 
scattered  through  the  rural  districts  hastened  to  avail  them¬ 
selves  of  what  they  believed  would  prove  to  be  a  relief  from 
the  burdens  of  the  situation. 

The  activity  of  the  agents  of  the  Land  Bank  and  Manu¬ 
factory  Scheme  aroused  the  Boston  merchants.  They 
foresaw  that  with  so  great  a  following  there  was  a  great 
probability  of  the  Land  Bank  actually  entering  upon  its  work 
of  furnishing  a  circulating  medium  of  its  own,  either  as  a 
corporate  company,  or  if  they  could  not  secure  that  recogni¬ 
tion,  then  as  a  mere  partnership  arrangement.  To  offset  the 
influence  of  the  Land  Bank  and  to  check  if  possible  its 
growing  popularity,  they  organized  a  counter  company  which 
was  known  as  the  Silver  Bank.  Subscribers  to  this  com¬ 
pany  agreed  not  to  receive  in  their  business  transactions 
the  bills  of  the  Land  Bank,  and  also  not  to  receive  those  of 
the  neighboring  governments  unless  redeemable  in  silver 


88 


Colonial  Currency 

and  gold.  They  proposed  to  emit  a  form  of  note  which 
they  agreed  to  receive  amongst  themselves.  The  denomi¬ 
national  values  were  defined  on  the  face  of  the  notes  in 
weights  of  silver  as  well  as  in  shillings,  and  during  the  year 
1741,  the  subscribers  and  the  company  agreed  to  receive  the 
notes  on  the  basis  of  twenty-eight  shillings  four  pence  for  an 
ounce  of  silver.  The  rate  at  which  they  would  be  received 
in  1742  was  twenty-seven  shillings  nine  pence  an  ounce;  in 
1743  at  twenty-seven  shillings  two  pence  an  ounce  and  so 
on  with  an  annual  reduction  of  seven  pence  per  ounce  until 
the  fourteenth  year,  when  the  reduction  was  eight  pence. 
So  also  the  reduction  on  the  fifteenth  year  was  eight  pence, 
when  by  the  terms  of  these  annual  reductions  the  price  of 
silver  was  brought  to  twenty  shillings  per  ounce.  The 
scheme  did  not  contemplate  a  longer  continuance  of  the 
company. 

The  managers  of  both  the  Land  Bank  and  the  Silver 
Bank  in  the  summer  of  1740  petitioned  the  governor  and 
council  for  incorporation.  The  supporters  of  the  Silver 
Bank  found  a  strong  friend  in  the  governor,  who  used  his 
influence  in  their  behalf,  and  who  frowned  upon  the  Land 
Bank,  but  incorporation  was  refused  to  both  companies. 
Meantime  the  excitement  caused  by  the  discussion  had  led 
to  the  election  of  a  house  of  representatives  in  which  the 
friends  of  the  Land  Bank  were  in  the  majority.  Both  com¬ 
panies  proceeded  with  their  organization,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1740  both  companies  emitted  bills  or  notes. 

The  whole  power  of  the  government,  or  rather  of  the 
executive  department  of  the  government,  was  then  put  in 
force  to  check  the  progress  of  the  Land  Bank.  Proclama¬ 
tions  were  issued  warning  people  against  the  bills,  and 


Introduction  89 

orders  were  promulgated  to  employees  of  the  government  of 
every  description  prohibiting  them  from  receiving  or  passing 
them.  This  arbitrary  and  aggressive  policy  stirred  up  the 
people  without  accomplishing  the  object  towards  which  it 
was  directed,  and  ultimately  the  closure  of  the  Land  Bank 
was  effected  only  through  parliamentary  interference.  The 
Silver  Bank  perished  with  the  Land  Bank,  its  organization 
being  equally  objectionable  under  the  terms  of  the  act  of 
parliament,  but  its  death  caused  no  disturbance.  The  main 
reason  for  its  existence  ceased  when  the  Land  Bank  was 
closed  and  its  affairs  had  been  so  managed  that  it  was  not 
difficult  to  wind  it  up.  The  Land  Bank,  on  the  contrary, 
with  its  widely  extended  interests,  could  not  be  so  easily 
wiped  out,  and  for  many  years  its  affairs  perplexed  the 
assembly  and  the  courts,  and  the  memory  of  the  injuries 
inflicted  through  the  medium  of  the  parliamentary  legisla¬ 
tion  survived  long  after  the  closure  of  its  affairs.  It  is  not 
possible  to  go  into  details  here  upon  this  subject,  but  the 
various  pamphlets  of  the  period  refer  to  the  notes  and  bills 
which  were  then  emitted ;  to  the  conflict  between  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  the  Land  Bank ;  to  the  efforts  of  people  in 
several  places  to  establish  local  Land  Banks ;  and  if  what 
has  been  said  is  not  adequate  to  explain  fully  to  the  reader 
the  meaning  of  the  allusions,  it  will  at  least  suggest  to  him 
the  field  of  historical  literature  in  which  he  should  look  for 
a  more  complete  explanation. 


Fresh  Activity  Among  the  Pamphleteers 

The  year  1740  was  not  only  a  year  of  excitement  and 
agitation  throughout  the  province,  in  consequence  of  the 


90  Colonial  Currency 

direct  appeal  made  to  individuals  by  the  canvassers  of  the 
Land  Bank,  but  it  was  also  one  of  pronounced  activity 
among  the  pamphleteers.  We  have  already  had  the  title 
of  two  pamphlets  this  year.  Besides  the  “  Letter  relating  to 
a  medium  of  trade  etc.”  there  was  another  Letter  pub¬ 
lished  this  summer,  the  date  being  Boston  June  io,  1740. 
The  author  praised  the  Land  Bank,  gave  a  description  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  founded,  and  laid  great  stress 
upon  the  numbers  interested  in  its  success.  He  believed 
that  the  bills  would  be  good  in  the  hands  of  holders.  His 
pamphlet  was  entitled  “  A  letter  from  a  country  gentle¬ 
man  in  Boston  to  his  friend  in  the  country.”  Both  of  these 
pamphlets  were  comparatively  insignificant  productions  and 
were  entirely  eclipsed  by  the  publication  in  Boston  in  1 740 
of  what  has  already  been  denominated  the  most  noted  of  the 
many  pamphlets  that  appeared  during  this  discussion  of 
the  currency  question.  This  was  the  pamphlet  known  as 
Douglass’s  “  Discourse,”  etc.,  which  was  printed  in  Boston 
in  1 740,  and  in  London  about  the  same  time. 

When  Douglass’s  “  Essay  concerning  silver  and  paper 
currencies  ”  was  published,  it  impelled  a  writer  to  prepare  a 
pamphlet  entitled  “  An  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  uses  of 
money ;  more  especially  of  the  bills  of  publick  credit,  old 
tenor.  Together  with  a  proposal  of  some  proper  relief  in 
the  present  exigence.  To  which  is  added  a  reply  to  the 
essay  concerning  silver  and  paper  currences  Boston.  1740.” 
This  was  written  by  the  author  of  “  Some  observations  on 
the  scheme  projected  for  emitting  ,£60,000,”  etc.,  the  pam¬ 
phlet  to  which  Dr.  Douglass’s  “  Essay,”  etc.,  was  a  reply 
and  the  author  was  a  Boston  merchant  named  Hugh  Vance. 
The  writer  proceeds  with  his  “  Inquiry  ”  and  then  submits 


Introduction  9 1 

as  a  remedy  a  scheme  for  the  emission  of  bills  by  under¬ 
takers  who  should  give  sufficient  security  and  should  agree 
to  receive  them.  The  bills  were  to  be  lent  out  on  good 
security  and  the  bank  was  to  accept  silver  in  payment  but 
to  take  no  other  bills  but  its  own.  Following  the  inquiry 
and  the  scheme  in  this  pamphlet  come  some  “  Remarks  on 
the  essay  concerning  silver  and  paper  currencies,”  etc.,  in 
which  the  “  Essay  ”  is  discussed  paragraph  by  paragraph. 
The  author  was  so  deliberate  in  his  preparation  of  the 
“  Inquiry  ”  that  before  it  was  published  he  met  with  the 
“  Discourse  ”  and  felt  compelled  to  include  in  the  same  pub¬ 
lication  a  review  of  the  doctrines  therein  promulgated.  He 
therefore  added  a  postscript  which  is  appended  to  the  “  In¬ 
quiry  ”  with  continuous  pagination  and  which  opens  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “  While  the  foregoing  was  in  Press,  the  Publick  has 
been  offered  A  Discourse  concerning  the  currencies  & c.  I 
presume  by  the  Author  of  the  Essay ,  and  upon  the  same  Plan, 
but  I  think  with  no  great  Improvement  in  Point  of  Reason¬ 
ing.”  This  sufficiently  indicates  the  nature  of  the  contents 
of  the  postscript,  pages  sixty-four  to  seventy-eight  inclusive. 

In  the  “  Discourse  ”  Douglass  had  referred  to  the  Land 
Bank  and  the  Silver  Bank,  then  in  their  incipient  stages.  He 
there  called  the  Land  Bank  “  The  Bubble  of  450,000/.  upon 
Land  and  Produce ,  which  fills  by  Subscriptions  a  great 
Pace.”  The  Silver  Bank  he  defined  as  a  “  Scheme  for 
emitting  Company  Notes  or  Bills,  to  be  paid  every  15  years , 
with  Silver  at  20i‘.”  which  he  thought  bade  fair  to  be  of  the 
greatest  service  to  the  province.  Meantime  both  banks  had 
gone  ahead,  and  we  should  naturally  expect  to  find  in  any 
new  publication  by  him  at  this  time  some  further  discussion 
of  the  merits  of  the  two  schemes.  It  is  surprising  therefore 


92  Colonial  Currency 

to  find  that  a  postscript  to  the  “  Discourse  ”  was  published 
immediately  following  the  appearance  of  the  “  Inquiry,”  an 
examination  of  which  will  show  that  such  expectations 
cannot  be  realized.  The  author  opens  his  postscript  with  a 
reference  to  the  “  Discourse,”  the  publication  of  which  he 
says  was  soon  followed  by  “a  Pamphlet  called  An  Enquiry 
&c.  in  Favour  of  Paper  Currencies,  consisting  of  a  new  Kind 
or  Set  of  Arguments  in  Abstracto  (as  the  School’s  Term  is) 
without  any  Regard  to  Matter  of  Fact,  but  supported  with 
Mobbish  Hints  such  as,”  etc.  The  “  Inquiry  ”  is  the  sole 
cause  for  the  postscript  and  to  it  alone  Douglass  directed  his 
attention.  The  postscript  must  have  been  published  some 
months  after  the  original  publication  of  the  “  Discourse,”  but 
it  is  entitled  “  Postcript,  To  a  Discourse  concerning  the 
Currencies  of  the  British  Plantations  in  America ,”  and  is 
printed  with  continuous  pagination  of  the  “  Discourse,”  that 
is  to  say,  of  the  Boston  edition,  1740.  Few  copies  of  the 
“  Discourse  ”  have  the  postscript. 


The  Land  Bank  Discussion 

If  Dr.  Douglass  held  himself  in  reserve  in  the  Postscript 
as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  banks  it  was  not  because  he 
proposed  to  spare  the  Land  Bank.  On  the  contrary,  he 
took  a  hand  in  the  pamphlet  warfare  of  1741,  in  which  the 
currency  question  was  discussed  by  controversialists  in  bad 
temper  and  violent  language,  some  favoring  the  one  and 
some  the  other  plan  for  relief.  Among  these  controversialists 
none  could  rival  Dr.  Douglass  in  outspoken  contempt  for 
those  who  ventured  to  differ  from  him.  None  could  exceed 
him  in  denunciations  of  that  to  which  he  was  opposed.  He 


Introduction 


93 

directly  attacked  the  Land  Bank  in  a  pamphlet  bearing  the 

following  title:  “A  letter  to - ,  merchant  in  London, 

concerning  the  late  combination  in  the  province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  to  impose  or  force  a 
currency  called  Land  Bank  money.  Published  for  the 
public  good,  1741.”  He  declared  the  bank  to  be  a  sham, 
with  no  stock  in  the  treasury  and  the  promise  to  accept  the 
bills  for  stock  in  the  treasury  an  arrant  bubble.  He  said 
that  while  elsewhere  banks  were  managed  by  opulent  and 
honest  men,  here,  the  indigent,  the  debtors  and  the  fraudu¬ 
lent  set  up  for  bankers  and  their  managers,  spirit  the  people 
to  mutiny,  sedition  and  riot.  The  “  Letter  to - ,  mer¬ 

chant  in  London”  was  dated  “February  21,  1740-41,”  and 
brought  forth  an  immediate  reply  entitled  “  A  letter  to  the 
merchant  in  London  to  whom  is  directed  a  printed  letter 
relating  to  the  Manufactory  Undertaking,  dated  New-Eng- 
land,  Boston,  February  21st,  1 740-1.  Printed  for  the  public 
good,  1741.”  This  bore  date  “Boston,  Febr.  27th,  1740-1.” 
and  contained  a  postscript.  The  author  defended  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Land  Bank,  called  attention  to 
the  great  number  of  civil  and  military  appointees  who  had  re¬ 
signed  their  commissions  rather  than  obey  the  injunctions 
of  the  governor,  and  asserted  that  the  bills  were  in  general 
use  notwithstanding  the  opposition  to  them. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  March,  1741,  Douglass  again  entered 
the  contest,  this  time  with  “  A  second  letter  to - ,  mer¬ 

chant  in  London,  concerning  the  late  combination  in  the 
province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  to 
impose  or  force  a  private  currency  called  Land  Bank 
money.”  He  repeats  many  of  the  assertions  that  he  had 
previously  made  and  refers  to  rumors  already  current  of 


94  Colonial  Currency 

disastrous  speculations  on  the  part  of  the  managers  of  the 
Land  Bank.  The  New  Hampshire  notes,  to  which  his 
opponents  had  alluded,  he  declares  to  have  died  a  natural 
death  in  infancy,  the  undertakers  having  refused  to  receive 
them  in  payments. 

In  1741,  a  pamphlet  appeared  in  London  written  by  an 
admirer  of  Douglass  and  evidently  inspired  by  the  “  Dis¬ 
course,”  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  influence  parliamentary 
legislation  against  the  paper  money  in  use  in  the  colonies. 
The  author  asserts  that  if  he  had  the  power  he  would  invite 
Douglass  to  England  to  present  his  views  at  the  next  meet¬ 
ing  of  parliament.  The  title  of  the  pamphlet  was  “  Obser¬ 
vations  occasioned  by  reading  a  pamphlet  entitled,  A  dis¬ 
course  concerning  the  currencies  of  the  British  plantations 
in  America  in  a  letter  to - .  London.  1741.” 


A  New  Governor  in  Massachusetts 

'  In  August,  1741,  Shirley  succeeded  Belcher  as  governor 
of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Under  Belcher’s  administration  the 
quantity  of  the  bills  emitted  by  the  province  which  remained 
in  circulation  had  been  reduced  to  such  an  extent  that  their 
par  value  did  not  represent  the  amount  required  in  coin  for 
the  trade  of  the  province.  Yet  silver  continued  to  rise  and 
the  bills  of  the  neighboring  governments  still  circulated  in  the 
province  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in  January  1738-9 
their  currency  had  been  prohibited.  The  circulation  of 
these  bills  together  with  that  of  the  bills  of  the  Land 
Bank  and  the  bills  of  the  Silver  Bank  which  had  not  yet 
entirely  disappeared,  furnished  an  adequate  explanation  of 


Introduction 


95 


the  cause.  The  last  act  of  Belcher  in  relation  to  the  cur¬ 
rency  was  to  violate  his  record  and  approve  a  bill  for  the 
emission  of  ^80,000  old  tenor,  in  order  to  promote  enlistments 
for  an  expedition  under  Admiral  Vernon  against  the  Spanish 
West  Indies.  This  approval  practically  marked  the  cessa¬ 
tion  of  the  rigid  application  of  the  policy  of  contraction. 

Shirley  was  exempt  from  the  personal  hostility  which  had 
hampered  Belcher  at  every  turn,  a  hostility  originally  pro¬ 
voked  by  his  continuous  efforts  to  bring  about  a  contraction 
of  the  currency  and  aggravated  with  a  large  part  of  the 
community  by  his  violent  efforts  to  prevent  the  circulation 
of  the  Land  Bank  bills.  The  new  governor  was,  therefore, 
able  to  bring  about  what  would  have  been  impossible  for 
Belcher,  the  quiet  acceptance  of  the  parliamentary  legisla¬ 
tion  specially  directed  against  banks  of  emission  in  the  col¬ 
onies,  and  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  directors  of  the 
Land  Bank  to  close  that  institution. t  He  was  able  also  to 
secure  legislation  which  was  helpful  in  the  adjustment  of 
debts.  Ever  since  1712  the  old  tenor  bills  had  retained  by 
means  of  a  series  of  temporary  acts,  the  legal  tender  func¬ 
tion.  The  last  of  these  acts  was  just  about  to  expire.  The 
purpose  of  the  legal  tender  act  was  expressed  in  its  title 
“  An  act  for  the  relief  of  and  to  prevent  oppression  to  debt¬ 
ors/’  In  practical  operation,  debtors  had  through  the  con¬ 
stant  depreciation  of  the  currency,  been  able  to  pay  off  their 
debts  in  bills  which  were  worth  less  when  the  payments 
were  made  than  they  were  worth  when  the  obligations  were 
contracted.  Shirley  described  the  legislation  which  was  sub¬ 
stituted  for  the  “  Act  for  the  relief,”  etc.,  as  an  “  Act  for 
securing  to  creditors  the  full  value  of  their  outstanding  debts 
for  the  future  by  making  an  allowance  for  the  depreciation 


Colonial  Currency 


of  the  bills  between  the  time  of  contracting  the  debt  and 
the  time  of  payment.”  As  far  back  as  1727  an  abortive  act 
had  been  introduced,  in  which  a  table  of  the  price  of  silver 
in  bills  of  public  credit,  ranging  from  eight  shillings  in  1710 
to  sixteen  shillings  in  1727,  was  introduced.  From  the  title 
of  the  act  we  ascertain  that  its  purpose  was  to  determine  the 
value  of  bills  of  public  credit  and  to  render  the  payment  of 
debts  more  equitable  and  thereby  prevent  any  oppression  or 
injury  to  debtors  and  creditors.  No  action  was  then  taken 
and  no  other  action  than  the  maintenance  of  the  legal  tender 
function  of  the  old  tenor  bills  was  afterward  taken  until  the 
passage  of  Shirley’s  act  which  he  described  as  securing  to 
creditors  for  the  future  the  full  value  of  their  outstanding 
debts.  The  underlying  feature  of  the  act  was  an  attempt 
to  secure  payments  on  the  basis  of  the  silver  price  at  the 
date  of  the  contract.  This  required  an  official  valuation  of 
the  price  of  silver  from  day  to  day,  a  proceeding  which  was 
attended  with  much  confusion  and  differences  of  opinion, 
with  the  result  that  the  courts  must  have  found  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  law  full  of  perplexity.  Amendments  to  the 
act  soon  began  and  at  a  later  date  after  the  enormous  emis¬ 
sions  of  bills  to  cover  the  expenses  of  the  Louisburg  expe¬ 
dition,  new  laws  were  passed  for  the  adjustment  of  debts  in 
which  the  assembly  arbitrarily  fixed  percentages  of  deprecia¬ 
tion,  covering  specific  periods  for  the  adjustment  of  debts 
incurred  during  these  periods. 


Discussion  of  the  Currency  Itself 

The  pamphlet  discussion  relating  to  currency  matters  at 
this  time  was  mainly  devoted  to  the  currency  itself.  There 


Introduction 


97 

was  no  longer  any  question  as  to  private  and  public  banks. 
In  1743  there  appeared  a  pamphlet  entitled  “An  enquiry 
into  the  st^te  of  the  bills  of  credit  of  the  province  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  Bay  in  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston  to  a 
merchant  in  London.  Printed  in  the  year  1743.”  The 
author  was  familiar  with  his  subject  and  contributed  much 
valuable  information  thereon.  He  gives  the  exact  amount 
loaned  to  the  Boston  merchants  at  the  time  of  the  Quebec 
expedition  of  1711 ;  furnishes  the  amount  of  bills  outstand¬ 
ing  at  certain  periods;  criticises  intelligently  some  of  the 
features  of  the  different  new  tenor  bills ;  calls  attention  to 
the  evident  distrust  of  these  promises  on  the  part  of  the 
public ;  and  furnishes  a  table  of  the  silver  price  and  rate  of 
exchange  from  1711  to  1730. 

In  1 744,  there  was  published  “  An  account  of  the  rise, 
progress  and  consequences  of  the  two  late  schemes  com¬ 
monly  called  the  Land  Bank  or  Manufactory  Scheme,  and 
the  Silver  Scheme,  in  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  wherein  the  conduct  of  the  late  and  present  G  — 
during  their  Ad  —  ns  is  occasionally  consider’d  and  com¬ 
par’d.  In  a  Letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston,  to  his 
friend  in  London.  Printed  in  the  year  1744.”  This  gives 
an  account  of  the  two  banks  in  narrative  form. 

There  also  appeared  in  1744,  “A  Letter  from  a  gentle¬ 
man  in  Boston  to  his  friend  in  Connecticut.  Boston,  1744.” 
The  pamphlet  was  a  protest  against  the  inclusion  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  and  Connecticut  in  the  denunciations  caused  by 
excessive  emissions  of  Rhode  Island.  It  was  written  just 
before  the  enormous  expansion  in  Massachusetts  caused  by 
the  Cape  Breton  expedition  and  at  the  time  when  it  was 
written,  a  law  had  recently  been  passed  prohibiting  the  cir- 

VOL.  i  —  7 


98  Colonial  Currency 

J 

culation  in  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  of  certain 
emissions  of  other  governments. 

The  Great  Inflation 

The  emissions  which  were  made  to  cover  the  expenses 
of  the  Louisburg  expedition  were  begun  in  February  1744- 
45.  The  capture  of  Louisburg  placed  the  province  in  posi¬ 
tion  to  claim  reimbursement  for  the  heavy  expenditures 
made  in  behalf  of  the  expedition  and  the  deplorable  con¬ 
dition  of  the  circulating  medium  of  the  province  compelled 
recognition  on  the  part  of  parliament.  From  a  little  over 
,£300,000  of  bills  of  public  credit  in  circulation  in  1744  the 
amount  outstanding  had  increased  in  1746  to  nearly 
,£1,500,000.  Following  this  came  an  appeal  from  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  for  aid  in  a  Canada  expedition,  with  promises 
of  reimbursement.  The  expenditures  in  this  behalf  carried 
the  sum  of  bills  in  circulation  up  to  between  £1,800,000 
and  ,£1,900,000  old  tenor.  Silver  rose  to  above  sixty  shil¬ 
lings  an  ounce.  Exchange  on  London  was  from  1100  to 
1200  and  financial  affairs  in  general  were  in  chaos.  These 
events  succeeded  each  other  with  great  rapidity.  It  was 
impossible  to  measure  values  during  this  period,  but  there 
was  some  alleviation  to  the  situation  through  the  fact  that 
great  confidence  was  felt  that  the  expenditures  in  behalf 
of  the  Louisburg  expedition  would  be  reimbursed  by  parlia¬ 
ment,  and  this  confidence  was  confirmed  by  a  report  of  the 
agent  at  London  in  April,  1748,  that  the  house  of  com¬ 
mons  had  resolved  that  the  reimbursement  was  reasonable. 


Introduction 


99 


How  Should  the  Reimbursement  be  Applied 

What  should  be  done  with  the  money  when  it  should  be 
paid  to  the  province  at  once  became  the  subject  of  discus¬ 
sion,  not  only  in  the  assembly,  but  also  in  the  press.  Even 
before  it  was  known  absolutely  that  the  reimbursement 
would  be  made,  a  correspondent  of  the  Independent  Ad¬ 
vertiser  had  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  March  advocated  the 
use  of  the  money  for  resumption.  This  led  to  the  publica¬ 
tion  of  “  A  word  in  season  to  all  true  lovers  of  their  liberty 
and  their  country;  both  of  which  are  now  in  the  utmost 
danger  of  being  forever  lost.  By  Mylo  Freeman.  Boston 
1748.”  The  writer  thought  that  instead  of  bringing  the 
money  over  and  using  it  as  a  fund  for  resuming  specie  pay¬ 
ments,  it  would  be  better  to  keep  it  “  forever  in  the  Bank  of 
England,  as  the  government’s  fund  and  bottom,  and  to  have 
the  interest  thereof  only  drawn  for  yearly  by  the  govern¬ 
ment;  which  interest  will  amount  to  about  eighty  thousand 
pounds  (as  our  money  now  stands)  yearly,  and  so  every  year 
sink  and  burn  eighty  thousand  pounds  of  our  paper  bills.” 

The  situation  at  that  time  was  reviewed  by  a  writer  of 
some  ability  in  “  A  brief  account  of  the  rise,  progress  and 
present  state  of  the  paper  currency  of  New  England. 
Boston  1749.” 

The  conclusion  of  the  assembly  to  apply  the  reimburse¬ 
ment  money  for  the  redemption  of  the  outstanding  currency 
was  reached  in  January  1748-49,  the  money  not  then  being 
in  the  province,  and  the  act  then  passed,  being  entirely  pro¬ 
spective  in  operation.  Resumption  was  to  begin  April  1, 
1 750  after  which  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  take  or  pay  any 
bills  of  credit  of  either  of  the  neighboring  governments.  This 


IOO 


Colonial  Currency 

left  very  little  for  the  pamphleteers  to  discuss,  but  the  outflow 
of  pamphlets  was  not  thereby  stopped.  In  1 750  there  appeared 
one  entitled  “  Some  observations  relating  to  the  present  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay;  humbly 
offered  to  the  consideration  of  the  general  assembly.  Boston. 
1750.”  The  net  amount  of  the  coin  received  for  the  reim¬ 
bursement  of  the  Louisburg  expenditures  was,  after  all  charges 
were  paid,  a  little  over  ,£175,000  sterling.  The  author  says, 
“  But  taking  it  for  granted  that  we  were  £  100,000  sterling  in 
debt,  yet  it  would  be  no  great  misfortune  ;  for  we  have  at  this 
time  £2,000,000  old  tenor  in  silver  in  the  province,  and  sup¬ 
posing  we  should  discharge  that  £  100,000  with  a  part  of  it, 
yet  we  should  have  £*800,000  O.  T.  remaining  for  a  medium 
amongst  us,  at  the  lowest  computation,  which  sum  is  al¬ 
lowed  by  those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  course  of 
our  trade  to  be  fully  sufficient  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a 
medium.”  It  is  difficult  to  tell  just  what  he  meant,  but  if 
his  proposition  was  that  the  silver  representing  the  £800, 000 
O.  T.  was  enough  for  the  trade  of  the  province,  then  we  can 
test  his  proposition.  The  £*100,000  sterling  was  equal  to 
;£I33>333  New  England  currency.  If  this  was  the  equiva¬ 
lent  of  £*1,200,000  old  tenor,  his  ratio  was  one  to  nine,  and 
if  he  meant  that  the  £75,000  sterling  or  £83,333  New 
England  currency,  which  apparently  would  represent  the 
£800,000  old  tenor,  was  enough  for  a  circulating  medium 
for  the  province,  he  was  probably  mistaken. 

The  republication  of  the  pamphlet  literature  of  this  period, 
if  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  period  extending  from  the  first 
emission  to  the  practical  resumption  of  specie  payments, 
should  be  closed  with  “Massachusetts  in  agony:  or  impor¬ 
tant  hints  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  province:  calling  aloud 


Introduction 


IOI 


for  justice  to  be  done  to  the  oppressed ;  and  avert  the  im¬ 
pending  wrath  over  the  oppressors.  By  Vincent  Centinel, 
Boston,  1750/’  a  treatise  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the 
method  of  application  of  the  reimbursement  fund.  The 
author  would  retain  the  silver  in  the  province  treasury; 
would  pay  current  expenses  in  coin ;  and  would  levy  taxes 
in  silver.  He  proposed  that  a  bounty  should  be  granted  to 
every  young  couple  who  should  lawfully  marry  and  settle  in 
the  province,  and  that  a  reward  of  twenty  pounds  should  be 
paid  to  them  on  the  day  after  their  first  male  child  was 
christened.  He  did  not  object  to  the  circulation  of  the  bills 
of  neighboring  governments  if  at  a  discount. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  pamphlet  was  published  at 
least  a  year  after  the  passage  of  the  “Act  for  drawing  in 
the  bills  of  credit,”  etc.,  by  the  general  court  of  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay.  While  this  legislation  committed 
the  province  to  a  distinct  course  of  action,  it  must  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  redemptions  under  the  act  were  not  to  begin 
until  April  first,  1750.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  this 
publication  must  have  been  issued  before  that  date.  So  far 
as  Massachusetts  Bay  was  concerned  the  episode  was  now 
concluded.  This  was  not,  however,  the  case  with  the  other 
colonies.  It  is  possible  that  it  may  be  concluded  to  add  to 
this  series  one  or  two  pamphlets  more,  a  year  or  two  later  in 
date,  but  it  is  not  essential  to  determine  this  question  now. 

This  review  of  the  pamphlet  literature  bearing  upon  the 
currency  question  of  this  period  discloses  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  the  publications  were  from  the  Boston  press.  The  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  experience  was  unique.  Herein  1690  began  the 
emission  by  the  government  of  what  was  perhaps  the  first 
denominational  governmental  paper  money  in  the  world, 


102 


Colonial  Currency 

with  the  exception  of  an  experience  three  hundred  years 
before  in  China,  unless  we  should  admit  Meules’s  playing 
card  money  or  some  of  the  siege  money  of  history  to  that 
honor.  Then  followed  the  acceptance  of  a  paper  currency 
by  the  people ;  its  adoption  by  the  province ;  its  expansion,  the 
efforts  to  restrain  which  were  rendered  futile  by  the  influx  of 
the  bills  of  other  colonies ;  and  finally,  the  expenditures  for  the 
Louisburg  expedition,  which  bankrupted  the  province.  Then 
came  the  reimbursement  for  the  expenditures  in  the  Louis¬ 
burg  campaign  and  the  application  of  the  money  as  a  substi¬ 
tute  for  the  currency  then  in  circulation.  Following  this 
came  prosperity.  The  province  as  a  whole  gained  by  the 
arbitrary  manner  in  which  specie  payments  were  resumed. 
Massachusetts  was,  however,  alone  in  this  opportunity. 

Researches  Which  have  Served  as  Authorities 

It  will  have  been  observed  that  what  has  preceded  is 
practically  without  specific  reference  to  authorities.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  writer  has  relied  mainly  upon 
works  written  by  himself  for  the  statements  made.  These 
works,  whether  in  the  form  of  published  volumes  or  papers 
communicated  to  learned  societies,  contain  references  by 
volume  and  page  to  the  archives,  the  records,  and  to  other 
sources  of  authority.  Among  these  the  one  principally 
resorted  to  was  “  Currency  and  Banking  in  the  province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,”  which  appeared  in  1901,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  American  Economic  Association  as  one 
of  the  publications  of  that  society.  The  story  of  the  Fund 
as  told  in  that  publication  is  incomplete,  owing  to  dis¬ 
coveries  since  1901  of  contributory  material.  What  has 


Introduction 


103 

since  been  learned  about  this  experiment  at  banking  will  be 
found  in  “  The  Fund  at  Boston  in  New  England,”  a  paper 
read  before  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  April  29, 
1903,  and  published  in  the  proceedings  of  that  society,  as 
well  as  in  separate  form.  The  existence  of  the  “  Discourse 
in  explanation  of  the  bank  of  credit,”  was  not  known  in 
1901.  My  attention  was  called  to  it  in  1903  and  a  paper 
treating  of  it  was  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Historical  Society,  December  1903  and  was  sepa¬ 
rately  printed  under  title  “  The  prospectus  of  Blackwell’s 
Bank,  1687.”  The  story  of  the  alteration  of  the  London 
pamphlet  of  1688  entitled  “A  model  for  erecting  a  bank  of 
credit  with  a  discourse  in  explanation  thereof,”  etc.,  is  also 
new  and  is  told  in  a  communication  to  the  American  Anti¬ 
quarian  Society  published  in  the  eighteenth  volume  of  the 
Proceedings  and  separately  printed  under  title  of  “  Was  it 
Andros?  ”  The  account  given  in  “  Currency  and  Banking ” 
of  the  Merchants’  notes  of  1733,  was  correct  as  far  as  it 
went,  but  in  1903  a  fuller  and  more  detailed  account  of 
the  organization  of  the  merchants  and  their  experiences  in 
emitting  these  notes  was  given  in  a  paper  read  at  the  April 
meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  that  year, 
and  separately  published  under  title  of  “  The  Merchants’ 
notes  of  1733.”  This  was  based  upon  newspaper  material 
which  had  not  previously  been  made  use  of.  To  these 
papers  one  must  turn  for  fuller  information  upon  the  points 
covered  than  can  be  found  in  “  Currency  and  Banking.” 

During  the  time  that  the  researches  were  being  made 
which  furnished  the  material  included  in  the  two  volumes 
of  “  Currency  and  Banking,”  several  communications  on 
topical  subjects  were  from  time  to  time  made  by  me  to 


1 04  Colonial  Currency 

the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  the  Colonial  Society 
of  Massachusetts,  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
and  to  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 
Besides  these  a  few  appeared  in  serial  publications.  When 
the  text  for  “  Currency  and  Banking  ”  was  prepared,  use 
was  made  of  those  papers  and  as  far  as  was  possible  the 
information  contained  in  them  was  incorporated  in  the  larger 
publication.  It  was  not  possible,  however,  to  give  all  their 
contents  room  and  it  was  entirely  out  of  the  question  to 
furnish  all  the  references  to  sources  of  authority  with  which 
the  several  papers  were  fortified.  It  seems,  therefore,  proper 
to  refer  the  reader  to  those  papers  for  the  details  and  the 
references  which  are  not  included  in  the  pages  of  “  Currency 
and  Banking.”  All  of  the  papers  whose  titles  are  given 
below  are  reprints,  and  the  date  given  is  the  date  of  the 
reprint,  but  all  of  them  will  be  found  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  several  societies  or  in  the  volumes  of  the  serial 
publications  of  the  respective  dates. 


Provincial  Banks,  Land  and  Silver 

Reprint 

189s 

Col.  Soc.  of  Mass.  Vol. 
III.  Jan.  1895 

Legislation  and  Litigation  connected 
with  the  Land  Bank  of  1 740 

)) 

1896 

Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol. 
XI.  N.S.  April  1896 

Currency  Discussion  in  Massachu¬ 
setts  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

j> 

1897 

Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics  Vol.  XI. 
Oct.  1896  &  Jan. 

i897 

The  General  Court  and  Land  Bank 
Litigants 

V 

1897 

Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol.  XI. 
N.S.  April  1897 

Certain  Considerations  concerning 
the  Coinage  of  the  Colony  and 
the  Public  Bills  of  Credit  of  the 

)y 

1898 

Am.  Ac.  Arts  &  Sci¬ 
ences  Vol.  XXXIII. 
June  1897 

Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay 


Introduction 


A  Connecticut  Land  Bank  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century 


The  Massachusetts  Bay  Currency, 
1690-1750 

A  Search  for  a  Pamphlet  by  Gov¬ 
ernor  Hutchinson 

Certain  Additional  Notes  touching 
upon  .  .  .  and  of  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Currency 

The  Currency  and  Provincial 
Politics 

Occult  Methods  of  protecting  the 
Currency.  Sewall’s  Mnemonic 
lines  and  their  Interpretation 

Previous  Legislation  a  corrective 
for  Colonial  troubles 

Andros’s  Proclamation  Money 


Lawful  Money 

Boston  Banks,  168 1-1 740.  Those 
who  were  interested  in  them 

New  Hampshire  Notes,  1735. 
Those  who  were  interested  in 
them 

The  Fund  at  Boston  in  New  Eng¬ 
land 


Was  it  Andros  ? 


105 


tt 


ft 


tt 


ft 


tt 


t> 


tf 


ft 


t> 


ft 


tt 


tt 


1898  Quarterly  Journal  of 

Economics  Vol.XIII. 
Oct.  1898.  Also  Col. 
Soc.  of  Mass.  Vol.  V. 
Jan.  1898 

1899  Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol.  XII. 

N.  S.  Oct.  1898 

1899  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Vol. 

XIII.  2dS.  Feb.  1 899 

1899  Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol. 

XIII.  N.  S.  April 
1899 

1900  Col.  Soc.  of  Mass.  Vol. 

VI.  April  1899 

1900  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Vol. 

XIII.  2d  S.  Dec. 

1899 

1900  Col.  Soc.  of  Mass.  Vol. 
VI.  March  1900 

1900  Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol. 

XIII.  N.  S.  April 

1900 

1903  N.E.  Hist.  Gen.  Reg. 
April  1903 

1903  N.E.  Hist.  Gen.  Reg. 
July  1903 

1903  N.E.  Hist.  Gen.  Reg. 
Oct.  1903 


1904 


Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics  Feb. 
1904.  Also  Am. 
Ant.  Soc.  Vol.  XV. 
N.S.  April  1903 

Am.  Ant.  Soc.  Vol. 
XVIII.  N.S.  Oct 

x9°7 


*9°7 


1 06  Colonial  Currency 

In  conclusion,  a  word  ought  perhaps  to  be  said  as  to  the 
methods  adopted  in  these  reproductions.  The  effort  has 
been  made  to  place  them  before  the  reader  in  the  precise 
form  in  which  they  were  originally  published.  The  spelling, 
capitalization,  punctuation  and  italics  have  been  preserved. 
Every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  compositor  to  make  con¬ 
spicuous  words  or  phrases,  by  change  of  font,  has  been 
recognized  and  made  evident.  The  original  pamphlets 
being  of  various  sizes,  no  effort  has  been  made  to  preserve 
herein  the  original  pagination,  but  this  has  been  indicated 
by  Arabic  figures  in  brackets  at  proper  places  in  the 
text.  The  abandonment  of  the  original  pagination  carries 
with  it  the  failure  to  reproduce  the  catch  words  at  the 
bottom  of  the  pages.  It  will  be  recognized  however  that 
this  is  of  no  real  consequence. 

The  student  who  may  make  use  of  these  reprints  will  soon 
notice  many  minor  errors  in  these  pamphlets,  which  were 
undoubtedly  chargeable  to  press  composition,  and  which  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  correct.  In  concurrence  with  the 
general  plan  of  reproduction,  no  effort  had  been  made  to 
correct  errors  however  obvious  they  may  be,  nor  has  any 
attempt  been  made  to  call  attention  to  them.  It  is  important 
that  the  student  should  feel  that  he  has  before  him  a  perfect 
copy  of  the  original,  which  he  himself  can  correct  or  interpret 
uninfluenced  by  others.  Except,  therefore,  so  far  as  human 
fallibility  may  have  interfered  with  success,  these  reprints 
may  be  relied  upon  as  accurate. 


V/ 


REPRINTS 


(V 

-W  ’  . 


*•  .  * 


i  *  ft  >4* 


»,  w  r  *  Ha**,  i.  >■>  •  f  tj  ig  t  * 

xn 


>»**•  <*>  /*-*  /  •  v  **“•*  «*-'«  /  <'Y<v*  !  r,  f  {‘Offtrv,  <F- 

(>4  |f»lM«t-1  '  |  *'  *  K  *  *  » 

Several s  relating  to  the 

FUND 

/ 

‘Printed  for  divers  %eafons}  as  may  appear. 


Tffat  the  mj  $fm&n  is  net  in  himfelf:  it  is  net  in 
man  that  wrikab,i*  dire 8  his  Heps,  Is  a  Truth 
that  all  ( who  are  not  Changers  to  themfclves) 
mu  ft  acknowledge-,  6c  in  fpedd  the.  Author  of 
thisSftbjefi:  If  it  beconfidercd, 
x  That  he  had  as  little  skill  in,  as  inclination  to,  or  need  of 
concerning  himfelf  in  merchantilt  Affairs:  Norcame  he  into 
New- England  with  a  thought  to  meddle  therewith;  as  is  well 
known  to  many.  s  That  he  (hould  concern  himfelf  to  pro* 
mote  Trade  for  others,  and  that  in  this  Land,  a  place  not  de- 
figned  by  the  firft  Planters,  for  Cmmtrce%  being  better  acquaint 
•ted  with  codejtial  Dealings,  than  the  polities  of  mundane  affairs 
3  That  he  (hould  amongft  fuch  a  People  cflay  to  promote 
a  Defigrie  not  known  in  the  day  thereof  (if  yet)  to  1 
in  any  part  of  the  world(although  fince  in  agitation 
and  then  furely  ftrangcherc,  where  the  name  of 
benefit  thereby,  was  hardly  heard  of.  4  Thath 


'■  *  v» 


A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A 

^  ^  'O  'O  ^  'O  'O  'O  'O  'O  'O  ^  ^  ^  v5£  v5£ 


Severals  relating  to  the 


FUND 


Printed  for  divers  Reasons ,  <2tf  appear. 


THat  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself:  it  is  not  in  man 
that  walketh ,  to  direct  his  steps ,  Is  a  Truth  that  all  (who 
are  not  strangers  to  themselves)  must  acknowledge;  &  in 
special  the  Author  of  this  Subject :  If  it  be  considered, 
i  That  he  had  as  little  skill  in,  as  inclination  to,  or  need 
of  concerning  himself  in  merchantile  Affairs :  Nor  came  he 
into  New-England  with  a  thought  to  meddle  therewith :  as 
is  well  known  to  many.  2  That  he  should  concern  himself 
to  promote  Trade  for  others,  and  that  in  this  Land,  a  place 
not  designed  by  the  first  Planters ,  for  Commerce ;  being  bet¬ 
ter  acquainted  with  coelestial  Dealings ,  than  the  polities  of 
mundane  affairs 

3  That  he  should  amongst  such  a  People  essay  to  pro¬ 
mote  a  Designe  not  known  in  the  day  thereof  (if  yet)  to 
1[  ]  in  any  part  of  the  world  (although  since  in  agita¬ 
tion  [  ]  and  then  surely  strange  here,  where  the  name 

of  [  ]  benefit  thereby,  was  hardly  heard  of.  4  That 

h[  ]  [2]  notwithstanding  the  reproaches  cast  upon 

him,  &  untruths  raised  &  reported  of  this  Thing,  stil  ap- 


I IO 


Colonial  Currency 

pear  to  justifie  &  promote  the  same,  and  encourage  those 
who  are  satisfied  thereof,  and  join  with  him  in  this  his  un¬ 
dertaking.  The  rise  of  which  was  as  followeth. 

About  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1649.  an  intimate  Friend 
of  the  Authors  in  London ,  Mr.  William  Potter ,  who  was 
likewise  no  Trader,  Imparted  to  him  a  Designe  for  the 
accomodation  of  Commerce,  in  the  nature  of  a  Bank  of 
money ;  but  to  be  founded  upon  personal  Credit ,  by  a  consid¬ 
erable  number  of  able  Men  Ingaging,  as  the  Found  thereof, 
to  pass  forth  Credit ;  as  a  medium  to  enlarge  the  Measure 
of  money ,  that  was  known  to  be  too  little  for  the  Dealings 
of  that  Land :  Or  by  depositing  of  Goods ,  in  the  nature  of  a 
Lumber  of  Merchandise,  to  pass  out  Credit  thereon,  untill 
sold.  As  for  a  Fund  to  have  Land  (the  onely  secure  De¬ 
posit)  the  dubious  &  intricat  Titles  thereof,  put  a  stop  to 
any  discourse  thereabout.  And  as  for  a  Bank  of  money , 
there  was  in  that  no  certain  Security;  wofull  experience 
proving  them  subject  to  a  rupture. 

The  Author  so  resented  the  Notion  of  his  Friend,  (the 
thing  being  rational,  &  tending  much  to  the  benefit  of  all 
men  where  set  on  foot)  that  it  became  oft  times  when  they 
met,  the  common  subject  of  their  discourse,  in  a  rotation  of 
Proposals,  Objections,  and  Solutions:  Leaving  no  stone  un¬ 
turned,  that  might  fit  the  designe  to  comport  with  that  Place. 
Mr.  Potter  likewise  had  about  that  time  printed  a  Book  in 
folio ,  relating  to  his  designe ;  one  whereof  he  bestowed  on 
the  Author,  who  (upon  the  report  that  was  given  him  of  the 
Labyrinth  New-England  was  in,  for  want  of  a  Conveniency 
to  mete  their  Trade  with)  gave  it  with  good  acceptance,  to 
a  Kinsman  of  his  that  was  a  Merchant  of  this  Place;  the 
prosperity  wheref  he  was  [  ]er  to,  when  not  likely 


1 1 1 


Reprint 

ever  to  see  It.  Whether  by  [  ]  Book,  or  other  accident, 

any  motion  thereabout  [  ]s  unknown.  But  before  any 
thing  was  brought  to  [  ]t  seems  there  was ;  (an  accompt 
of  which  shall  in  [3]  its  place  be  given)  the  Author  was 
called  to  Ireland ;  where  he  had  more  endeavoured  the  pro¬ 
motion  of  this  thing,  than  barely  to  hint  it;  had  not  his 
transient  Employ  prevented. 

In  anno  1664.  His  lot  being  here  cast,  he  soon  saw  that 
with  his  eye,  that  did  affect  his  heart  i.  e.  The  Straits 
many  were  in ;  the  Time  they  consumed,  and  the  Disadvan¬ 
tages  they  were  under,  by  higling  to  suit  ends :  And  there¬ 
upon  imparted  to  a  publick-spirited  Merchant,  with  what 
ease,  &  safety  their  Measure  might  be  inlarged :  Who  like¬ 
wise  being  sensible  of  the  need  thereof,  desired  to  have  in 
Writing  somewhat  about  the  same.  Which  being  done,  It 
was,  it  seems,  imparted  to  divers,  with  approbation;  and 
Return  made,  That  somewhat  might  be  done  about  it  in 
due  season:  which  the  author  rested  satisfied  with;  in  that 
there  lay  not  now  at  his  dore,  a  Thing  concealed,  that  might 
tend  to  the  welfare  of  the  Country. 

About  three  years  after  this  (that  foregoing  being  wholly 
buried)  the  author  accidentally  started  this  Expedient,  among 
divers  Country  Gentlemen,  Yeomen  &  others;  persons  not 
likely  to  lend  an  ear  to  a  thing  of  this  nature.  Yet  so  it 
happened,  that  to  some  one,  or  more  of  them,  the  Notion 
was  of  estimation:  and  spread  abroad,  to  the  occasioning  of 
several  Debates  among  those  who  were  Considerable,  both 
in  Parts  &  Purse :  And  stopped  not,  untill  the  honoured 
Council  heard  thereof.  But  before  they  took  notice  of  it, 
One  of  the  Magistrates  Imparted  the  Designe  to  an  experi-  » 
enced  Merchant,  well  Read  in  the  nature  of  Banks ,  To  have 


1 12 


Colonial  Currency 

j 

his  judgement  concerning  this.  Who  Returned,  that  this 
Bank  was  so  Stated,  as  left  not  room  for  a  rational  Objection 
to  be  made  against  it  In  that  those  Founded  on  Money ,  had 
only  their  defect,  of  a  possibility  to  break\  which  this  Fixed 
on  Land ’  was  not  capable  of.  Soon  after  this,  the  Author 
had  notice  given,  that  the  Council  would  send  speedily  for 
him,  about  this  Concern :  &  was  advised  to  write  somewhat 
about  it,  for  them.  Whereupon,  he  set  upon  drawing  a 
second  Draught,  in  the  dress  of  a  Proposal.  The  which, 
before  quite  write  out,  a  Messenger  was  [4]  sent  to  call  him 
to  them.  To  whom  he  presented  his  (then  crude)  concep¬ 
tions,  as  follows.  To  which  some  clauses,  and  explanations 
are  added :  but  is  the  same  for  substance,  with  that  on  File 
in  the  Records  of  the  General  Court. 

A  Proposal  for  erecting  a  Fund  of  Land;  by  Authority , 
or  private  Persons ,  in  the  nature  of  a  Money- Bank;  or 
Merchandise-Lumber,  to  pass  Credit  upon,  by  Book-Entries; 
or  Bils  of  Exchange,  for  great  Payments',  and  Change-bills 
for  running  Cash.  Wherein  is  demonstrated,  First,  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  having  a  Bank,  to  inlarge  the  Measure  of  Dealings 
in  this  Land,  by  shewing  the  benefit  of  Money,  if  enough  to 
mete  Trade  with ;  &  the  disadvantages,  when  it  is  otherwise. 

Money  is  that  One  thing,  which,  as  the  medium  of  Trade, 
(for  so  Solomon's  Assertion  must  necessarily,  be  understood) 
a7iswereth  All  things.  For  where  it  is  in  plenty,  no  Buyer 
will  be  bound  to  one  Person,  or  Market ;  nor  purchase  Credit 
at  the  Grantor‘s  price  ;  nor  be  necessitated  to  become  Ser¬ 
vant  to  the  Lender,  if  he  have  Money  to  answer  his  occa¬ 
sions;  nor  will  run  the  hazard  of  Trusting.  Hereby  also, 
the  frequent  complaints  that  are  made,  for  want  of  present 


Reprint  1 1 3 

pay,  are  silenced  &  persons  freed  from  a  multitude  of  cark- 
ing  cares.  It  likewise,  multiplies  Trading  ;  increaseth  Man¬ 
ufacture,  and  Provisions;  for  domestic  use,  and  foreign 
Returns;  abateth  Interest;  inciteth  to  the  purchasing  of 
Land,  and  heigh teneth  its  value  ;  forwards  the  Improvement 
both  of  real,  and  personal  Estates ;  promoteth  the  Settleing 
of  new  Plantations,  and  maritim  Affairs ;  incourageth  heart¬ 
less  Idlers,  to  Work  ;  redeemeth  Time  Labour,  and  Expence, 
greatly  consumed  in  higling  up  and  down,  to  suit  Pay  to 
content,  abrogateth  the  mystery  of  Trucking,  by  sinking 
barter,  and  reducing  all  bought,  and  sold,  to  the  English 
Standard;  hindreth  wrangling  and  vexatious  Suits  upon 
Debts  contracted  for  want  thereof,  to  the  Scandal  of  a  reli¬ 
gious  people,  as  well  as  the  impoverishing  of  [5]  them,  and 
the  consuming  the  time  of  their  Magistrates,  that  might  be 
better  spent  about  studying  the  necessary  advantages  of 
Trade,  and  forwarding  of  Manufacture,  to  the  inriching  of 
them.  To  which  end  most  civilized  Nations  set  some  apart 
to  manage,  and  is  the  Loadstone  that  draweth  commodities 
to  the  Market,  that  great  conveniecy  of  a  people. 

On  the  contrary  where  Coin  is  scarce,*  all  things  are,  dear , 
&  little  answereth  to  content,  or  free  from  trouble,  and  loss. 
Debts  are  contracted ;  dilatory,  and  shuffeling  payments 
made;  dexterous  Traders  retire  or  (which  is  worse)  deal  in 
Money,  the  medium  of  Trade ;  young  beginners  are  checked  ; 
good  men  laid  open  to  temptations,  and  opportunities  given 
to  bad  ones,  that  exact  from  those  who  must  crave  Credit, 
or  cannot  make  suitable  pay. 

Trade  is  stinted  at  home,  and  forestalled  abroad ;  Stocks 

*  This  Clause ,  with  some  other  Objections  &*  Queries ,  very  lately  made j 
shall  receiv  a  full  Reply  in  the  next  Sheet  :  if  possible. 

VOL.  i  —  8 


1 1 4  Colonial  Currency 

lye  dead;  Intrigue  accompts,  and  perplexing  Suits  made; 
Merchants,  and  Shop-keepers,  undersell  one  another ;  and 
pitifully  help  themselves,  by  beating  down  Craftsmen :  who 
again,  through  necessity,  underwork  others  of  their  occupa¬ 
tion ;  or  slight  over  their  work ;  adulterate  Manufacture,  and 
hasten  poverty  on  all.  Nor  can  ever  Trade  be  ballanced, 
or  the  advantage  of  Fairs  be  enjoyed,  where  Money  is  want¬ 
ing.  Which  the  Cobler  of  Agawam ,  before  he  Canonized 
Pumpion ,  was  not  so  Simple  but  understood  full  well. 

Secondly ,  That  Credit  pass'd  in  Fund,  by  Book  &  Bills  (as 
afore )  willfully  supply  the  defect  of  Money.  Wherein  is  re¬ 
lated,  of  how  little  value  Coin,  as  the  Measure  of  Trade ,  need 
be,  in  it  self ;  what  Inconveniences  subject  to.  The  worth  a 
Fund  -Bill,  or  Payment  therein,  is  of:  &  not  of  that  Hazard. 

Although  Cash  be  so  usefull ;  yet  it  is  but  a  ready  conven- 
iency.  Which  hath,  through  mistake,  its  esteem,  not  from 
the  use,  (which  it  ought)  but  Intrinsic  value :  which  is  not 
essential  to  a  thing,  meerly  good  for  Exchange ;  and  serving 
barely  [6]  to  procure  what  One  wants,  that  another  abounds 
with :  and  again,  to  fetch  for  the  last,  what  he  standeth  in 
need  of,  where  to  be  spared.  And  this  (except  here  were 
Mines ,  to  transport  bullion ,  for  foreign  Trade)  Ba7ik-Bills , 
or  payments  therein,  will  effect,  to  all  Intents,  as  well  as 
plenty  of  Coin ;  which,  as  money ,  doth  neither  Feed,  nor 
Cloath.  Moreover,  Treasure,  not  onely  allures  an  Enemy, 
and  is  covetously  hoarded  up ;  &  so,  like  dung  in  a  heap, 
unprofitable :  but  is  also  subject  to  wear  adulterating ,  {fires, 
robberies,  mistakes,  &  the  like  contingencies ;  which,  payments 
in  this  Bank,  or  bills  issued  thence,  are  free  from :  having  a 
Fund,  or  Deposit  in  Land\  real,  dureable,  &  of  secure  value. 


Reprint  1 1 5 

And  for  the  Change-bills ,  they  may  be  so  contrived,  as  to  be 
passed  with  facility;  and  without  counterfeiting.  However, 
so  as  to  prevent ;  or  find  out,  any  Cheat :  if  the  Rules  of 
them  be  observed. 

The  other  two  Sections  of  the  Proposal \  must  be  pass’d  to 
the  2d  Sheet, pag.  9.  It  being  needful  to  make  a  Digression, 
to  give  an  account  of  the  publishing  this  undertaking  sooner, 
than  intended.  In  the  year  74.  divers  well-wishers  to  the 
Fund,  did  think  it  fit,  to  have  a  Narrative  of  it  Printed.  In 
order  whereunto,  something  was  done,  in  the  Method  before ; 
i.  e.  the  occasion  of  the  Subject;  and  then,  the  proceedings 
thereon,  to  that  time :  but  particular  business  did  interpose. 
In  the  year  78.  the  author  was  importuned  to  the  same 
thing:  which  had  been  done,  but  that  after-thoughts  brought 
him  to  consider,  that  so  much  having  been  agitated  in  Pub- 
lique,  about  it ;  and  the  probation  it  had  by  the  Referrees, 
and  honoured  Council,  as  to  the  Theory  thereof ;  the  Press 
would  hardly  print  it  into  the  practic  part :  and  that  the 
onely  way  was  to  set  it  on  foot.  For,  as  Good  Wine  needs 
no  bush ;  so  it  was  presumed,  that  if  this  were  but  in  use,  the 
Flavour  thereof  would  invite  enou’  to,  and  continue  them  at 
it.  Which  to  accomplish,  (having  by  accident,  some  respit 
time  this  year  1681.  and  accomodated  with  Spirit,  Purse,  & 
Hand\  the  ingredients  that  must  center,  as  in  one,  for  any 
considerable  undertaking)  He  did  in  Sep-\l~\tember,  begin  to 
pass  forth  Bills,  to  make  an  Experiment  of  that  which  had 
passed  the  Scrutiny  of  above  30.  years,  with  approbation ; 
and  had  rational  Grounds  to  conclude,  that  it  would  work  it 
self  up  into  Credit,  with  discreet  men :  because  Interest  will 
not  Lie.  In  6  moneths,  a  considerable  number  espoused  the 
Designe ;  besides  those  that  were  concerned,  in  the  years, 


1 1 6  Colonial  Currency 

Seventy  one,  &  Seventy  two .  Whereupon,  it  became  as  a 
Galley  floating  upon  the  stream  of  opinion,  into  which  He,  & 
He  would  thrust  an  oar .  And  some  that  favoured  not  the 
Designe,  did  talk  to  the  discountenance  of  it :  and  wanting 
weighty  obiections,  let  fly  broad-sides  of  Pot- gun-pellets, 
chained  with  Fallacies  &  bujfoonry,  to  impede  this  under¬ 
taking.  Upon  this,  several,  now  engaged,  think  it  not  fit  to 
be  longer  silent :  but  urge  the  hastening  an  account  of  the 
Designe ;  that  the  Reality,  Safety,  and  Benefit  thereof,  may 
appear  to  all  prudent,  and  unprejudic’d  men.  And  this 
shall  be  endeavoured,  as  time  will  permit ;  though  not  in  the 
mode  first  intended :  Which  was,  to  place  all  the  Rules  re¬ 
lating  to  the  Fund,  at  the  end  of  the  Narrative',  and  then 
the  Debates  that  are  carried  on,  concerning  Commerce. 
Which  will  now  fall  in  mixt  and  this  Sheet  be  closed  with 
some  Rules,  most  needful  to  be  first  known,  for  the  directing 
those  in  Company,  in  their  motion.  The  manner  of  erecting 
the  Fund,  which  was  March  30.  71.  and  the  carrying  it  on 
in  private,  for  many  moneths ;  and  the  reason  of  putting  a 
stop  to  it,  when  bills  were  just  to  be  issued  forth,  together 
with  the  Preamble  of  the  Rules,  &c.  They  may  come  in,  in 
due  place 

Payments  on  Change-bills. 

That  the  Acceptor,  who  gives  Credit  to  any  Change-bill, 
First,  be  assured  that  the  Producer  thereof,  be  the  Person 
named  in  said  bill,  or  sent  by  his  Order.  Secondly ;  That  he 
Enter  on  said  bill,  1.  the  Time.  2.  his  own  Name.  3.  the 
Value  he  payes.  Which,  if  it  be  the  first  Charge,  then  also  to 
write  the  Sum,  in  words,  above  the  columne\  If  not,  then  to 
cast  up  the  Total',  which  is  to  be  done  at  every  additional 


Reprint  1 1 7 

Article ,  &  the  bill  to  be  delivered  back  again .  Thirdly ,  If  he 
pay  the  complement  of  any  bill \  to  take  it  in. 

[8]  Entries  in  the  Creditors  Leger. 

First ,  the  Acceptor  must  erect  an  Accompt  in  his  Leger , 
Fund  at  Boston  in  N.  E.  Debitor .  Contra , 

Creditor . 

Secondly ,  Enter ,  i.  Time,  as  in  the  former  Rule .  2. 

thus ,  To  Change-bill  of  J .  E.  adding  thereto ,  /fe  number  of 
the  bill ',  &  the  Sum  delivered.  And  if  it  be  in  full  of  the 
bill ’  7)k?zz  to  write  underneath  the  Entry ,  iV.  7?.  This  bill 
taken  in.  Thirdly ,  ze/^zz  ^  #?z  Account  in  the  Office , 

^  zj  to  write  thus ,  N.  My  Accompt  in  the  Fund  Leger , 
fol.  — 

Entries  in  the  Fund-books. 

When  the  Acceptor  hath  given  Credit  to  the  value  of  five 
pounds ,  :  Zfe  zzzzzy  /zw  Fund  Debit  into  the  Office , 

dr"  Credit  in  his  Account  there ,  ^  #zz  Acceptor :  giving 
in  an  Account ,  as  Entr'd  in  his  Leger ,  with  the  Change-bills 
taken  up  by  him ,  dr5  underwritten  thus ,  Place  to  my  Credit 
in  Fund ',  fol.  —  the  Sum  of  —  being  for  the  foregoing 
Payments. 

To  H.  S.  /Vr  J.  N.  with  the  Date. 

Pass-bill  Forms. 

If  one  Fundor  pas  set  h  Credit  to  another ,  zV  ought  to  be  by 
a  Pass-bill \  thus ,  Place  of  my  Credit  in  Fund,  fol.  —  to  Ac¬ 
count  of  D.  J.  the  Sum  of  —  Directed,  &  Signed,  as  above 
express'd. 


1 1 8  Colonial  Currency 

If  the  Drawer  desire  a  Change-bill,  for  Pocket-Expence, 
Then  thus,  Charge  my  accompt,  foL  —  Debtor,  five  pounds 
or  2  Change-bill,  now  received,  Number,  —  Fund-credit ,  not, 
to  be  strained ;  nor  passed,  but  among  Fundors . 

That  no  Acceptor  give,  nor  Depositor  take  more  Fund- 
credit,  than  they  see  their  way  how  to  Receive,  or  Pay  the  same 
again,  among  those  in  Company  with  them :  nor  Deal  in  said 
Credit  with  any,  but  those  Ented  in  the  Fund -Fowl;  which 
all  concerned  may  take  a  copie  of  N.  This  Rule  to  be  of  force 
but  until  persons  see  it  to  be  their  Interest,  to  accept  Fund-pay : 
and  the  Credit  thereof  pass,  without  hazard  of  any  prejudic¬ 
ing  the  same ;  through  willfulness,  or  ignorance. 

To  return,  at  length,  to  th e,  proposal,  left  off  pag.  6.  [ 

15- 

Thirdly, 

NOTE  TO  “SEVERALS  RELATING  TO  THE  FUND  ” 

This  pamphlet  was  reprinted  in  “Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  1682-1720.”  The  original  is  in  the  Wat- 
kinson  Library,  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  permission  to  make  the 
copy  and  the  facsimile  of  the  first  page  was  obtained  through  the 
courtesy  of  that  Library.  There  is  no  other  copy  of  the  pamphlet 
known  to  be  in  existence.  Its  value  was  recognized  by  the  late  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull  and  it  was  described  by  him  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  in  October,  1884,  and 
separately  published  under  title  of  “  First  Essays  at  Banking  in  New 
England.”  The  handwriting  to  be  observed  on  the  facsimile  was 
identified  by  him  as  that  of  Thomas  Prince.  The  inference  is  that 
the  pamphlet  must  at  one  time  have  been  in  the  Prince  Library. 
Mr.  Trumbull  identified  the  author  as  the  Reverend  John  Wood- 
bridge  of  Newbury,  and  through  the  aid  of  Prince’s  notation,  the 
date  of  publication  as  March,  1681, 82.  His  technical  description  of 


Note 


1 19 

the  pamphlet  was  as  follows :  “  It  contains  on  a  single  sheet  in  pot- 
quarto,  the  first  eight  pages  of  the  tract,  and  is  without  a  separate 
title  leaf  or  imprint.”  1  It  will  be  seen  from  Prince’s  notation  that 
it  is  from  the  press  of  Samuel  Green.  If  emitted  as  a  prospectus, 
these  “  first  eight  pages  ”  were  of  course  all  that  were  then  put  forth 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  second  eight  pages  were  never  printed. 

Mr.  Trumbull  has  picked  up  a  good  many  of  the  threads  of  the  life 
of  the  Rev.  John  Woodbridge,  the  author  of  “  Severals  relating  to 
the  Fund.”  Sibley  in  the  life  of  Woodbridge’s  son  adds  one  more, 
that  he  was  born  at  Stanton,  in  Wiltshire,  England.2  Trumbull, 
after  giving  some  details  of  his  life,  says,  “  He  was  chosen  an 
Assistant  in  1683  and  again  in  1684.  His  connexions  with  the 
principal  families  in  the  colony,  and  particularly  with  the  leaders 
of  the  “  moderate  ”  Party,  assured  him  consideration  in  the  Council 
and  influence  in  public  affairs.  He  was  the  brother-in-law  of  Joseph 
Dudley  and  of  Governor  Bradstreet.  His  daughter  Lucy  was  the 
wife  of  the  Governor’s  son,  Simon  Bradstreet.  He  was  connected 
with  the  Winthrops,  by  the  marriage  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Dudley, 
with  Mary,  daughter  of  (the  first)  Governor  Winthrop.”  3 

1  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  New  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  267. 

2  Harvard  Graduates,  Vol.  II,  p.  156. 

8  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  October,  1884,  p.  269. 


! 


A  Discourse  in  Explanation  of  the 

Bank  of  Credit 

Or 

An  Account  of  the  Model  Rules  &  Benefits  of 
The  Bank  of  Credit,  Lumbard, 
and  Exchange  of  Moneys  Proposed  to 
be  Erected  in  Boston  And  managed 
by  persons  in  Partnership,  as  other 
Merchantly  Affayres. 


Published  by  the  Proposers. 


Anno 

1687. 


122 


Colonial  Currency 


[“A  Discourse,”  Etc.] 

Briefe  considerations  tending  Demonstratively  to  evince 
the  Necessity,  Security,  usefulnes  &  Advantage  of  The 
Bank  of  Credit  Lumbard  &  Exchange  of  Moneys  Proposed 
to  be  Erected  at  Boston  in  New-England.  And,  That, 
Bank-bills  of  Credit  will  not  only  answer  the  Ends  of  Gold 
and  Silver  moneys,  but  are  Preferrable  to  both.  Also,  some 
Rules  &  Instructions  to  be  attended  by  all  such  as  shall  de¬ 
sire  the  Assistance  of  this  Bank  &c  Touching  the  way  and 
manner  of  their  proceedings,  in  order  to  their  Receiving  the 
Benefits  thereby  held  forth,  viz! 

Some  things  Premised  for  Introduction 
touching  Banks  in  Generali  viz1 

Money,  whether  Gold  or  Silver,  is  but  a  measure  of  the 
value  of  other  things :  yet  hath,  for  a  long  Succession  of 
Ages  (especially  in  the  civillized  &  trading  part  of  the  world) 
obteyned  to  be  the  usuall  &  best  known  means  of  Inter¬ 
change. 

This  Measure  &  way  of  interchange  was  originally  oc¬ 
casion’d  by  the  experimented  inconveniencies  of  Comon 
Barter  by  Comodities:  In  which  way,  unlesse  both  the 
parties  dealing  had  like  occasion  reciprocally  of  each  other’s, 
the  lesse  necessitous  over-reached  the  greater,  by  imposing 
ye  Price  of  both:  to  his  owne  Advantage,  and  the  others 
detriment,  which  was  not  equall. 

The  Inconveniencies  of  the  way  of  Barter  might  have 
been  much  obviated,  By  a  frequent  setting  a  just  &  equall 
value  of  the  Price  of  all  comodities,  by  publique  authority, 


123 


Reprint 

according  as  the  plenty  or  scarceity  of  them  should  require, 
and  the  market  had  ruled :  But,  there  being  no  such  comon 
standard,  Money  hath  obteyned  &  been  admitted  as  the  best 
ballance  of  Trade,  both  by  wise  &  un-wise.  But,  whether  the 
Mynes  faile,  or  men  have  not  been  so  foreseing  and  indus¬ 
trious  to  bring  into  most  countreys  a  sufficiency  wherewith 
to  manage  their  increasing  trades;  Or,  That  Traders,  for 
want  of  other  returnes,  have  been  necessitated,  for  Ballance 
of  the  Surcharge  of  goods  Imported,  To  Remit  the  Coynes 
of  some  Countreys  into  others ;  Or,  For  other  unknown 
causes,  ’t  is  now  so  hard  to  come  by,  for  the  carrying  on  of 
trade,  to  answer  the  vastness  of  men’s  attempts  &  aymes 
of  increase  in  Merchandize,  as  that  it ’s  suspected  to  be  in¬ 
sufficient  in  this  age  of  the  world  :  And  that  hath  put  divers 
persons  &  countreys  upon  contrivances,  how  to  supply  that 
deficiencie,  by  other  Mediums :  Some  of  which,  have  happily 
pitch’d  upon  That,  of  Banks,  Lumbards  &  Exchange  of 
Moneys  by  Bills :  which  have  thriven  with  them. 

The  Two  Former  of  these,  viz4,. Banks  and  Lumbards  have 
been  sett  on  foot  in  divers  Countreys,  by  their  respective 
publique  undertakings,  and  have  succeded  to  their  abundant 
inriching.  Perhaps  others  have  thought,  That  would  have 
occasioned  the  over-flowing  of  moneys  amongst  them  :  But, 
as  the  later  have  been  mistaken,  Or,  their  Surfeit  of  Trade 
hath  obscured  the  visibility  of  it,  and  protracted  the  consid¬ 
erations  of  Redressing,  till  it  hath  proved  allmost  Fatall, 
even  to  the  giving  a  Sett,  or  declension  to  their  Aspyrings 
therin;  So,  the  Former  have  really  experimented,  that  their 
Banks  have  been,  as  well  amongst  themselves,  as  with  other 
Countreys,  of  greater  value  than  the  Species  of  Gold  and 
Silver:  and  yet  such  places  dreyne  away  the  said  species 


1 24  Colonial  Currency 

from  the  other  that  Court  it,  as  the  only  reall  good  thing  for 
a  Countrey. 

The  Third,  viz!  That  of  Exchange  of  Moneys,  hath  been 
for  the  most  part  managed  by  the  respective  merchants  of 
the  same  and  other  Countreys  :  who,  in  their  particular 
dealings  and  correspondencies,  have  un-accountably  con¬ 
trolled  it,  to  their  great  advantage  also ;  and  vary  it  often,  in 
each  Annuall  Revolution. 

’T  is  not  doubted  but  that  all  Three  of  these  might  be  im¬ 
proved  and  accomodated  to  the  publique  advantage  of  any 
countrey,  and  of  this  in  perticular  [Commuting  only  the 
Fund  of  the  First  from  (but)  an  Imaginary  being  or  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  species  of  Gold  and  Silver  moneys  lodged  in 
such  Banks,  (which  this  place  hath  not  in  such  plenty  as  to 
deposit  for  such  a  purpose)  into  Reall  and  Substantiall 
Lands  &  goods  of  un-questionable  title  and  value  (which 
this  Countrey  hath)  and  thence,  more  aptly  Terming  the 
Bank  (which  in  other  places  is,  in  Repute,  A  Bank  of 
Moneys)  [A  Bank  of  Credit]  and  the  Bills  issued  on  these 
Funds  [Bank  Bills  of  Credit]  especially  if  such  an  affaire  be 
managed  in  Partnership,  by  private  hands,  persons  of  knowne 
integrity,  prudence  and  estates:  all  which  will  become 
thereby  lyable  to  answer  the  injury,  damage  or  Losse  to  any, 
by  their  undertaking.  And,  It  seemes  most  necessary  that 
some  thing  of  this  nature  be  sett  on  foot,  for  the  present 
supply  of  the  great  scarceity  of  money  here,  for  carrying  on 
the  Ordinary  comerce  amongst  Traders;  who,  unlesse 
speedily  releived  by  this  medium,  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
suddainly  exposed  to  breaking  and  utter  Ruine.  But, 

At  present,  we  shall  begin  with,  &  principally  discourse  of 
the  two  first  of  these,  viz1.  The  Bank  of  Credit,  as  it  may  be 


125 


Reprint 

rendred  Susceptible  of  the  second,  viz*,  The  Lumbard  con¬ 
junct:  Accounting  the  One  to  be  founded  on  Lands  or 
Reall  estates  mortgaged ;  and  the  other  on  staple  goods  or 
personall  estates  Deposited :  Such  as  any  Countreys  Prod¬ 
ucts  and  Manufactures  will  by  Art  and  Industry  produce 
and  furnish. 

Here  might  be  also  discours’d  A  Lumbard  for  ye  Poore 
(by  some  called  Mons  pietatis)  But  That ’s  fitter  to  be  the 
handmayd  of  the  other.  For,  ’twill  be  too  poore  to  in¬ 
courage  an  undertaking  by  it  selfe.  Neither  is  there  the 
same  necessity  therof  as  of  the  other  in  this  Countrey  at 
present.  The  paucity  of  the  poore  occasioning  the  use  & 
imployment  of  all  the  hands  we  have,  and  calling  for  more, 
such  are  thereby  provided  for,  who  will  betake  themselves  to 
industry,  at  such  moderate  wages  as  would  enable  them  to 
live  comfortably  without  exposing  their  imployers  to  like 
poverty  with  themselves.  Besides,  the  other,  viz!  The  Bank  of 
Credit  &  Lumbard,  when  understood,  and  received  by  Gen¬ 
erali  approbation,  will  render  this,  as  also  that  of  the  Ex¬ 
change  of  moneys,  the  more  intelligible,  &  in  due  time  as 
usefull. 

These  things  Premised  by  way  of  Introduction,  we  shall 
now  proceed  to  that  which  more  imediately  relates  to  the 
Present  Bank  proposed  to  be  Erected  in  this  Countrey : 
which  we  define  thus,  viz*. 

A  considerable  number  of  persons,  some  of  each  Trade, 
calling  &  condition  (especially  in  the  principall  places  of 
trading  in  this  Countrey)  agree  voluntarily  to  Receive  as 
ready  moneys,  of  and  from  each  other  and  any  Psons  in 
their  ordinary  dealings,  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  signed  by  sev- 
erall  persons  of  good  Repute  joyned  together  in  a  Partner- 


126 


Colonial  Currency 

ship;  Given  forth  on  Lands  of  good  title  mortgaged;  and 
staple  un-perishable  goods  &  merchandizes  Deposited  in  fit¬ 
ting  places  to  be  appoynted  by  them  for  that  purpose,  To 
the  value  of  about  One  halfe  or  Two  thirds  of  such  respec¬ 
tive  Mortgages  &  Deposits  at  the  Rate  of  Fower  pounds 
P  cent  P  annum :  which  said  Bills,  in  a  kinde  of  Circula¬ 
tion,  through  their  experimented  usefullnes,  become  diffused 
by  mutuall  consent,  passe  from  One  hand  to  another,  and  so 
have  (at  least)  equall  advantages  with  the  Current  moneys  of 
the  Countrey  attending  them,  to  all  who  become  satisfied  to 
be  of  this  Society  or  agreement,  &  that  shall  deale  with 
them. 

For  Instance. 

A  countrey  Chapman  hath  Lands  (suppose)  worth  to  be 
sold  for  4ool:  and  being  willing  to  inlarge  his  trade  and 
dealings,  as  farr  as  his  Estate  will  enable  him,  Or,  having 
bought  goods,  for  which  he  is  indebted,  and  cannot  other¬ 
wise  pay  for,  He  mortgages  his  Land  in  Bank  for  200L,  more 
or  lesse;  and  therupon  receiveth  severall  Bank  Bills  of 
Credit  for  200L,  &c,  of  severall  values  from  20s  and  so  up¬ 
wards,  to  answer  his  occasions. 

With  these  Bills  he  buyes  such  goods  as  he  pleases,  or 
payes  his  debts  for  what  he  formerly  bought  of  the  whole¬ 
sale  shopkeeper,  or  Warehousekeeper  in  Boston,  or  other 
Towne  or  Townes  of  Trade  that  shall  fall  into  this  way  of 
dealing :  and  having  Bank  bills  to  deliver  for  them  (which 
are  of  better  value  by  40s  in  the  iooL  than  moneys,  with  this 
Society,  as  is  hereinafter  evinced)  he  buyes  much  cheaper 
than  he  could  upon  his  owne  Credit,  or  with  money  in 
specie. 

The  Shop  keeper  goes  to  the  merchant,  who  thus  agrees, 


127 


Reprint 

and  buyes  of  him  other  goods,  with  the  same  or  like  Bills, 
wherin  he  reaps  the  same  advantage  as  he  gave  his  chapman. 

The  Merchant  buyes  Bullocks,  Hogs,  Fish,  Hops,  Lum¬ 
ber,  Pitch,  Tarr,  Rozin;  Or  any  other  of  the  Countreys 
Product  or  manufactures,  of  the  Husbandman,  Artificer,  or 
maker  of  such  manufactures. 

The  Husbandman,  if  a  Farmer  of  Lands,  Pays  his  Rent, 
and  purchases  more  young  Cattell  of  his  neighbor,  for  Breed 
or  Fatting.  Or, 

If  an  Owner  of  Land,  and  hath  not  sufficient  stock  to 
improve  it,  he  also  mortgages  his  Land,  &  has  Credit  to 
furnish  himselfe.  Or, 

If  he  hath  stock  sufficient,  and  perhaps  more  than  his 
present  Farme  can  mantayne,  He  hath  his  eye  upon  a  neigh¬ 
boring  Farme  that  would  be  sold :  He  mortgages  his  owne 
Land  in  the  Bank,  and  hath  Credit  to  buye  the  other. 

If  then  he  want  stock,  He  may  also  mortgage  the  Farme 
last  purchased,  and  have  Credit  to  enable  him  fully  to 
improve  &  stock  both:  whereby  he  doubles  his  yearly  ad¬ 
vantages:  and,  if  he  can  then  content  himselfe  to  live  as 
frugally,  and  be  as  industrious  as  before,  he  may  soone  com- 
passe  to  pay  off  his  Debt,  and  Redeem  his  Land.  Or, 

He  may  continue  the  Credit  he  had,  or  take  out  more 
upon  the  Additional  improvement:  and  thus  increase  his 
purchases  and  estate  as  long  as  such  an  help  is  afforded. 

Another  Instance. 

The  Like  may  be  don  for  carrying  on  the  Opening  and 
working  in  any  Mynes,  Myneralls,  or  Quarreys  of  stone, 
Lead,  Tynn,  Iron,  Copper  &c.  Thus,  viz4. 

The  Myne  &  Lands  wherin  the  same  is  may  be  mort- 


128 


Colonial  Currency 

gaged,  as  aforesayd,  to  supply  the  Owner  therof  with  Credit, 
for  paying  his  workmen,  in  any  sum  of  20s.  or  above. 

As  fast  as  any  of  these  metalls  &c  are  wrought,  fitt  for 
sale  if  a  Chapman  be  wanting,  the  metall  may  be  brought 
into  the  Bank,  and  the  Owner  Receive  Bank  bills  to  the 
value  of  about  two  thirds  therof,  as  aforesaid,  to  enable  him 
to  proceed  on  his  works :  and  the  metall  lying  in  Bank  is 
there  readyer  for  a  market  than  else  where  in  his  owne  pri¬ 
vate  house  or  warehouse,  at  very  reasonable  Rates  for  lying 
there :  and  may,  with  allowance  of  the  Owner,  be  sold  at 
such  current  Rates  as  he  shall  sett :  and  he  become  Creditor 
for  so  much  to  be  discompted,  or  payd  him,  whensoever  he 
shall  call  for  it. 


A  Third  Instance. 

A  Weaver  of  Cloth,  Searge,  or  Linnen  &c  is  imployed  in 
any  work  house  erected  or  to  be  erected,  to  carry  on  those 
respective  manufactures :  Also  other  Manufacturers  and 
Artificers  in  Ropemaking,  Cables,  Rigging,  Sayles,  Ancours 
or  any  other,  for  the  fishing  trade,  Merchants,  or  building  of 
ships. 

The  Owner  of  such  Work-house  or  materialls  respectively 
consents  to  mortgage  the  same  for  200L  in  Bank-bills,  more 
or  lesse,  as  the  work  shall  require,  and  the  value  of  the 
house,  or  materialls  will  admitt. 

With  these  Bills  The  Workmaster  or  Overseer  buyes 
wooll,  worsted,  yarne,  dying  stuffes,  hemp,  Flax,  Iron,  Tim¬ 
ber,  Lumber  &c  of  the  merchant,  warehousekeeper  or  other 
seller:  and  finishes  forty,  sixty  or  a  hundred  peeces,  &c, 
more  or  lesse,  of  any  the  said  Comodities,  which,  when 
wrought  up  for  a  market,  if  he  want  a  Chapman  he  brings 


Reprint  129 

into  the  Bank  warehouses,  as  aforesaid,  or  such  yards, 
Docks  or  other  places  as  they  shall  appoynt :  takes  up  new 
Credit  upon  them,  &  leaves  them  there  to  be  sold  at  his 
owne  Rates,  as  aforesayd.  Or, 

A  considerable  parcell  of  Wooll,  Cotton,  Flax,  hemp,  Oyle 
dying  stuffes,  or  other  goods  for  his  use,  are  offer’d  for  sale : 
He  may  pay  One  third  therof  by  his  wrought-up  goods  un¬ 
sold,  and,  bringing  these  into  the  Bank,  may  receive  Credit 
for  paying  the  other  two  thirds,  which  he  may  take  out  in 
parcells,  as  he  brings  in  any  New-wrought-up  goods:  Or 
hath  occasion  to  use  them  for  making  up  more.  And  the 
Bank-storehouses  will  be  to  him,  and  all  other  Manufac¬ 
turers,  as  Blackwell  hall  in  London  to  the  Clothyers,  To 
assist  his  sale  of  them  with  out  his  trouble;  for,  Thither 
will  all  merchants  have  incouragements  to  come,  to  seek 
supplyes  for  transportation,  and  finde  goods  allwayes 
ready. 

Other  Instances  might  be  multiplyed.  But,  By  these  it 
appeares,  That, 

1.  The  Manufacturer  &c  loses  no  time  in  looking  out  a 
Chapman. 

2.  Is  allways  furnish’d  with  Credit  to  buy  his  materialls  at 
ye  best  hand. 

3.  The  Merchant  never  Trusts,  nor  Warehouse-keeper. 
Or  if  he  do,  the.  plenty  of  Bills  expedits  his  Chapmans  sales, 
and  consequently  his  payments.  Whereby, 

4.  He  has  incouragement  &  stock  presently  to  look  out 
for  more,  of  the  same  or  other  usefull  merchandizes. 

5.  Sends  forth  the  said  Metalls,  Clothes,  stuffes  Lynnen 
&c,  amongst  other  merchandizes  of  the  Product  of  this 
Countrey,  or  Imported. 

VOL.  I  —  9 


130 


Colonial  Currency 

6.  Makes  Returne  of  Bullion,  moneys  or  other  usefull 
goods,  which  are  presently  bought  off  with  Bank  bills.  Or, 

7.  He  may  store  them  up  in  Bank-warehouses,  and  Re¬ 
ceive  present  Credit  wherewith  to  send  out  againe.  And, 

8  Thereby  be  inabled  (at  least)  to  double  or  trebble  his 
yearly  dealings,  &  receive  proportionable  advantages.  This, 

1.  Increases  &  quickens  Merchandizing  and  Trade. 

2  Promotes  shipping  and  Navigation.  Which, 

3.  Increases  the  Kings  duties,  &  consequently  his  Reve¬ 
nues. 

4  Imployes  the  poore  in  the  mynings  &  manufactures 
aforementioned. 

5  Also,  In  that  of  Cordage,  Sayles,  Cables,  Ancours  &c 
for  the  fishing  trade  and  navigation. 

6.  They  get  money  by  these  imployments.  , 

7  That  enables  them  to  buy  up  all  necessaries  for  Cloth¬ 
ing,  victualls,  paying  debts,  &c 

8  This  helps  the  consumption  of,  as  well  our  own  manu¬ 
factures,  as  other  imported  goods  and  merchandizes;  For, 
no  man  that  hath  wherewith  to  buy,  will  go  naked,  or  be 
hungry  &c. 

9  This  helps  to  civillize  the  Ruder  Sort  of  people,  & 
incourages  others  to  follow  their  example  in  industry  &  civ- 
illity. 

10  Thus,  All  sorts  of  persons  become  inabled  to  live 
handsomly,  and  out  of  Debt :  and  that  prevents  multiplicity 
of  Lawsuites,  charges,  and  troubles  to  the  Government.  But, 

None  of  these  Advantages  may  be  expected  out  of  the 
small  pittance  of  Cash,  that  now  is,  ever  was,  or  likely  will 
be  in  this  countrey,  unlesse  assisted  in  trade  &  inriched  by 
the  help  this  Bank  proposes.  But, 


Reprint  1 3 1 

Obj.  1.  Some  perhaps  will  object,  or  say, 

What  do  you  tell  me  of  Bank-bills  &  Credit?  Unlesse 
you  have  moneys  allwayes  ready  to  give  me  in  Exchange  for 
Bank-bills  when  I  ask  it ;  I  ’1  never  deale  with  the  Bank ;  I 
understand  Money :  and  what  use  &  advantage  is  to  be  made 
of  that.  Will  you  not  be  bound  to  give  me  ready  money 
for  the  Bank-bills  I  have,  when  I  have  occasion  for  Money  ? 

Ans.  i.  This  Bank  is  not  Proposed  to  be  a  Bank  of 
moneys  (wch  is  liable  to  un-expressible  &  un-foreseen  haz¬ 
ards)  but  A  Bank  of  Credit,  to  be  given  forth  by  Bills,  to 
supply  such  as  cannot  get  money  (by  reason  of  it’s  scarceity) 
with  what  so  ever  may  be  had  for  moneys.  But, 

2  If  it  be  made  appeare  to  you,  that  others  who  have 
money,  will  be  willing  to  change  your  Bank-bills  into  those 
species  of  Gold  &  Silver,  &  thank  you  for  offering  them  the 
occasion,  (though  the  Bank  do  it  not)  you  ’1  have  no  cause  so 
hastily  to  resolve  against  dealing  with  the  Bank,  &c.  Espe¬ 
cially  if  you  may  both  be  gayners  by  the  Exchange.  But, 

3  If  I  ought  you  50Ql  to  be  payd  in  Silver,  &  should  pro¬ 
pose  to  pay  you  in  Gold,  at  the  intrinsique  coyn’d  value, 
which,  if  you  part  with  againe,  will  yeild  you  five  pounds 
profit,  or  more,  would  you  then  Refuse  Gold?  Quis  nisi 
mentis  inops,  &c.  sayes  a  Poet. 

Obj.  2.  How  will  you  apply  this  to  make  it  Credible  ? 
Thus, 

Ans.  Who  ever  hath  any  Payment  to  make  in  Bank 
(which,  in  all  probability  if  the  Bank  take  effect  will  be 
every  man  that  deales  in  above  20L  at  a  time)  will  finde, 
That  he  must  pay  40s  more  in  every  hundred  pounds  of 
ready  moneys,  than  in  Bank  bills  of  Credit :  which  is  about 
5  pence  benefit  to  the  Exchanger  in  every  20s. 


1 3  2  Colonial  Currency 

Obj.  3.  Then  surely  I  may  returne  the  Poets  wonder 
upon  the  Bank. 

Ans.  Not  at  all.  For  they  will  not  refuse  money:  But, 
Bank  bills  and  Credit  are  so  respectively  adapted  to  answer 
the  Two  severall  species  of  Gold  and  Silver  moneys,  as  that, 
More  than  Gold  is  valued,  by  many  men,  above  Silver,  Pro- 
portionably  will  Bank  bills  be  preferrable  to  either  of  them. 
For, 

Q.  Why  is  Gold  Preferrable  to  Silver,  so  as  that  a  person 
should  give  id  or  2d  in  the  pound  exchange  between  them? 

A.  1.  For  ease  of  Compting  &  carriage. 

2  For  Safety  in  travelling  or  hoarding  up. 

3  For  the  Advantage  that  some  make  by  the  exchange 
betwixt  them  :  which  lyes  on  the  side  of  the  Gold,  but  rarely 
is  above  20s  in  the  hundred  pounds. 

Bank  bills  Farr  exceed  both,  on  all  those  Accounts.  For, 

(1)  The  only  reading  over  of  a  Bank  bill  ascertaynes  the 
sum  or  value  conteyned  in  it :  and,  If  many  Bills  be  offer’d 
in  payment  of  a  considerable  sum,  Few  persons  that  have 
occasion  for  many,  but  can  easily  adde  or  compt  even  sums, 
none  conteyning  lesse  than  20s. 

(2)  If  a  person  be  Rob’d  of  his  Gold  or  Silver,  whether 
it  be  upon  the  Road  travelling ;  Or  by  thievs  breaking  open 
his  house  by  day  or  night,  when  he  is  abroad  or  asleep :  Or 
by  Servants  proving  unfaythfull ;  Though  he  may  possibly 
meet  with  the  persons,  earlyer  or  later,  that  took  his  money 
away ;  they  may  have  spent  it,  or  a  considerable  part  of  it ; 
That ’s  lost  irrecoverably :  and  it  will  be  hard  for  the  Loser  to 
prove  what  he  Andes,  to  be  his  owne  money :  -But  if  a  mis¬ 
chance  befall  him  in  his  Bills  by  any  of  those  meanes,  Or,  by 
accidents  of  fire,  water,  wearing  out,  &c ;  He  may  have  them 


133 


Reprint 

renewed  ;  if  he  forthwith  apply  to  the  Bank-house,  and  make 
a  voluntary  Oath  therof,  expressing  the  number,  value  & 
date  of  each  Bill  lost,  &c ;  and  will  secure  the  Bank  against 
all  after-demands  for  the  same  Bills.  By  which  meanes 
(most  probably)  the  thiefe  will  be  discover’d :  for,  the  Bank 
will  presently  make  publication  therof,  in  such  manner,  as, 
if  other  persons,  to  whose  hands  they  shall  come,  comply  not 
voluntarily  with  the  wrong-doer,  to  their  owne  prejudice,  he 
will  be  soone  detected  and  brought  to  condigne  punishment. 
And,  there  can  be  no  counterfeit  of  any  bill  given  out,  but 
the  Bank  can  make  out  the  truth  of  every  man’s  bill,  by  it’s 
counterpart  remayning  in  their  hands :  So  the  difficulty  of 
escape  will  deterre  from  the  attempt. 

(3)  The  Third  perticular  is  proved  in  the  answer  to  the 
second  objection,  viz!  Bank  bills  will  passe  in  the  Bank  at 
40s  more  than  money  in  iooL.  Wheras  Gold  is  very  rarely 
above  20s  more  than  Silver.  But,  Besides,  Money  may  not  be 
transported  without  hazards ;  Partly  by  the  penalties  on  the 
Transporter,  by  Law:  Partly  by  Shippwrack,  Piracy,  & c. 
Bank-bills  (with  advices)  may  assist  exchanges  into  England, 
&  all  other  parts,  when  once  this  Bank  shall  have  gotten  into 
Reputation,  allowing  for  the  different  intrinsique  value  of 
the  severall  current  moneys  in  each  respective  place :  as  iooL 
Bank  credit  of  Holland,  will  be  accepted  in  England  & 
bought  up  at  io2l,  sometimes  io3l  of  English  Coyne. 

Obj.  4.  If  therfore  upon  the  whole,  any  shall  say,  However, 
Give  me  money,  Or  I  ’1  not  deale  with  you,  I  Love  to  Look 
on  it  sometimes :  Gold  is  sayd  to  be  good  for  the  Eyes,  &c. 

Ans.  You  may  be  assured,  That  if  you  shall  choose  rather 
to  give  8L  per  centu  P  annu  for  money,  than  fower  for  Bank 
bills,  That  are  40s  in  the  iooL  better;  The  Bank  will  be 


134 


Colonial  Currency 

easily  perswaded  to  settle  some  way  wherin  they  may  safely 
accomodate  you  with  that  eye -salve,  and  can  bring  in  moneys 
to  them,  if  there  be  any  in  the  Countrey,  when  they  shall  see 
cause  to  value  them  equall  with  Bills :  which  (yet)  they  will 
never  attempt  to  the  prejudice  of  so  many  as  will  be  of  a 
different  mind  from  you  :  But,  you  are  rather  to  be  suspected 
to  have  moneys  than  to  want  it ;  and  would  put  it  out  at 
those  Rates  of  Interest,  as  heretofore  have  been  done,  to  the 
Ruine  or  impoverishing  of  many  Landed  persons  ;  for  whose 
Releife  this  Bank  is  principally  erected :  who,  finding  the 
ease  this  Bank  affords,  will  herafter  know  where  to  be  ac¬ 
comodated,  on  better  termes :  and  without  danger  of  being 
worm’d  out  of  their  Lands  &  Estates :  It  being  the  Banks 
Interest  to  continue  to  give  out  their  Credit,  on  the  termes 
proposed,  till  men  can  Repay.  But, 

Obj.  5.  We  know  not  the  nature  &  constitution  of  this 
Bank :  Nor  what ’s  requisit  for  us  to  do  in  order  to  our  being 
made  partakers  of  the  benefits  &  advantages  proposed  to 
such  as  shall  voluntarily  comply  therewith.  Nor,  Do  we 
see  clearly  our  Security  in  so  doing,  nor  upon  what  termes. 
Pray  informe  us  of  these  things,  so  farr  as  we  may  be 
safely  guided  into  the  way,  &  unto  the  end  of  it.  Also,  In 
case  this  Bank  should  terminate,  How  we  shall  be  dealt  with 
all  in  the  closing  up  of  accompts,  so  as  may  be  without  damage, 
either  to  ye  Bank  or  to  those  that  shall  so  deale  with  it? 
We  doubt  not  but  you  have  as  well  consider’d  the  end  as  the 
Beginning.  Though  if  it  prove  so  usefull  as  is  suggested, 
we  can  see  no  cause  why  a  thing  of  so  great  advantage,  in 
so  many  cases  as  have  been  instanced,  should  procure 
any  persons  ill  will  or  wearinesse  of  it:  And  we  are  also 
satisfied,  That  an  affayre  of  this  nature,  wherin  the  persons 


135 


Reprint 

&  estates  of  so  many  shall  be  involved,  as  it  seemes  prob¬ 
able  there  will  be,  can  not  suddainly  be  knock’d  off,  but  with 
inconvenience. 

Ans.  We  shall  indeavor  to  give  you  satisfaction  in  each 
perticular,  in  the  order  layd  down  by  you,  as  neare  as  may 
be.  And, 

First,  As  touching  the  Constitution  of  this  Bank: 

Take  it  Thus. 

i.  There  are  21  persons  of  good  and  Generali  Reputation 
for  integrity  prudence  &  estates,  To  whom  the  Trust  and 
care  of  the  management  therof  is  proposed  to  be  Committed, 
wherof  Seaven  of  them  viz1.  A.  B.  C.  D.  E.  F.  G.  are  conceved 
sufficient  to  appeare  at  the  first  entrance  therupon ;  and 
untill  by  the  coming  on  of  busines  it  shall  be  judged  neces¬ 
sary  to  settle  the  full  or  some  greater  number  of  them. 
These  are  all  ingaged  by  Articles  of  Agreement  &  Coven¬ 
ants  in  Partnership  to  attend  theron  and  be  responsible  for 
their  doings,  and  These  will  sitt  in  some  certayne  place  in 
Boston,  to  be  herafter  agreed  upon,  from  day  to  day,  as  the 
businesse  &  occasions  of  the  Bank  shall  require,  to  Receive 
all  Proposalls  from  any  persons  touching  their  having  such 
Credit  therout  as  they  shall  desire  upon  their  Estates  of 
Lands  houses  or  staple  un-perishing  goods  or  merchan¬ 
dizes,  to  such  value  as  they  shall  judge  the  security  proposed 
of  either  kinde  will  admitt :  and  for  drawing  up  &  perfecting 
such  Bank-bills,  mortgages,  Bills  of  Sale  and  Defezances 
therof,  as  Lands  or  goods  respectively  shall  require,  which 
said  Respective  mortgages  and  Goods,  when  perfected  & 
brought  in  shall  be  layd  up  and  stored  respectively  in  as 
safe  and  convenient  Roomes  and  Warehouses,  &c,  as  shall 
be  without  exception,  To  prevent  damage  of  wether,  Rob- 


136  Colonial  Currency 

bery,  Fire,  water,  or  vermin  of  any  kinde,  whereby  they  may 
be  impaired:  And  all  under  the  Trust  and  custody  of  such 
number  of  the  sayd  Managers  as  no  opportunity  can  be 
taken  to  impayre  or  lessen  the  security,  unlesse  all  the  part¬ 
ners  should  agree  therin;  which  can  not  reasonably  be 
imagined  by  any  body  that  knowes  them.  Besides,  There 
will  be  continuall  watching  on  all  such  places,  and  it  will  be 
the  Interest  of  all  persons,  any  way  concerned  in  the  affayres 
of  the  Bank,  to  be  carefull  to  prevent,  and  to  give  advertise¬ 
ment  of  any  attempt  made  to  the  impayring  or  prejudiceing 
the  Deposits  in  the  Bank;  for  that  their  Livelyhoods  and 
dependencies  will  lye  in  their  preserving  it  in  the  greatest 
Repute,  which  upon  the  least  violation  will  be  utterly  Lost, 
and  the  Bank  fall  to  the  ground. 

2.  These  Managers  aforesayd  enter  into  and  oblige  them¬ 
selves  by  Covenants  and  agreements  to  and  with  other 
persons  called  Assessors,  (who  were  the  Contrivers,  Framers 
&  Proposers  of  this  affayre  of  the  Bank :  and  of  the  Consti¬ 
tution,  Rules  &  instructions  to  be  observed  in  the  manage¬ 
ment  therof)  for  their  diligence  &  faithfulnes  in  the  discharge 
&  execution  of  their  respective  Trusts,  according  to  the 
sayd  Constitution ;  and  inviolably  to  observe  the  same,  and 
all  the  Rules  therof. 

3.  These  Assessors  have  also,  by  the  said  Constitution, 
the  oversight  &  Comptroll  of  the  whole  affayre,  to  see  the 
same  be  so  managed :  And  to  that  end,  are  dayly  to  inspect 
the  management  therof :  and  that  the  said  Rules  be  duly  ob¬ 
served  on  both  parts,  viz1,  as  well  on  the  part  of  the  Bank, 
as  of  the  persons  dealing  with  them  in  every  office,  or  branch 
of  the  Bank  ;  that  all  things  be  done  with  justice  and  impar¬ 
tiality  between  them.  And  in  case  of  absence  of  the  Mana- 


Reprint  1 3  7 

gers,  may  supply  that  defect,  by  their  personall  transacting 
the  same  things. 

4.  Each  of  the  sayd  Managers  and  partners  are  also  to 
Deposit  moneys,  &  other  estates  in  the  Bank  as  a  stock  or 
Fund:  which  will  be  a  further  security  and  obligation  upon 
them  for  their  upright  dealing,  for,  thereby  every  of  them¬ 
selves,  and  the  whole  partnership  become  personally  Inter¬ 
ested  and  concerned  to  be  carefull  in  every  thing:  and  the 
whole  society  liable  to  answer  the  damages. 

5.  This  undertaking  was,  in  July  1686,  Proposed  to  the 
then  President  &  Councill :  and  by  them  Referd  to  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  Grand  &  Standing  Committee,  consisting  of 
Divers  Eminent  and  worthy  persons,  Merchants  and  others, 
who  Reported,  as  their  opinion,  that  the  erecting,  Constitut¬ 
ing  &  setling  of  a  Bank  of  Credit,  Lumbard  &  Exchange  of 
moneys  as  was  Proposed,  may  be  very  usefull  and  conducei- 
ble,  to  the  incourageing.  of  Trade,  Navigation,  Manufactures, 
Planting  &  improving  of  Lands  &  Estates,  Increasing  his 
Majesties  Revenues,  Facilitating  the  Payment  therof,  and  of 
other  Debts;  And  removing  the  present  greatest  obstruc¬ 
tions  therunto  in  this  and  the  neighboring  territories  & 
dominions  of  his  Matie,  &c.  And  therupon  received  their 
allowance  and  Approbation.  As  by  the  sayd  Report,  and 
Order  of  Councill  therupon,  bearing  date  the  27th  day  of 
September  1686,  Relation  being  therunto  had  for  better  cer¬ 
tainty  therof,  it  doth  &  may  more  fully  &  at  large  appeare. 
And, 

Thus  you  have  notice  of  the  Originall  Nature  and  Consti¬ 
tution  of  this  Bank.  The  way  &  manner  of  it;  and  the 
Security  of  such  as  shall  deale  with  them  in  this  way. 


138  Colonial  Currency 

Secondly,  As  touching  that  which  is  farther  Requi- 
sit  for  those  to  do  and  observe  who  shall  voluntarily 
desire  to  Deale  with  this  Bank.  And  the  Rules  to 
be  attended,  that  thereby  they  may  be  made  partakers 
of  the  benefits  &  advantages  suggested,  in  the  Instan¬ 
ces  before  given  ;  Take  it  in  those  perticulars. 

1.  You  must  Resolve  to  come  to  the  Bank  with  as  just  a 
minde  not  to  injure  them,  as  all  men  that  consider  this  Con¬ 
stitution,  and  know  the  persons  imployed  in  the  management 
and  ordering  the  affayres  therof  will  believe  you  shall  finde 
in  them  towards  you,  viz,  Seek  not  to  circumvent  the  Bank 
by  bad  titles  of  Lands  or  Estates :  which  you  cannot  but 
know.  For,  If  you  do,  you’l  be  greatly  injurious  to  them 
whose  designe  is  to  be  so  farr  from  injuring  you,  as  they  will, 
by  all  lawfull  wayes,  according  to  the  honest  Rules  and 
meaning  of  the  Bank,  study  to  profit  you :  And  this  is  no 
other  than  not  to  be  or  do  evill  to  them  who  are  good  to 
you,  which  the  very  morall  heathen  will  avoyd. 

2.  It  will  be  also  Requisit  That  you  Assist,  &  what  in  you 
lyes  Promote  the  Reputation  of  the  Bank,  &  it’s  affayres  & 
proceedings,  in  all  lawfull  wayes.  For,  ’t  is  a  Generali  Good 
to  your  Countrey,  as  well  as  perticular  to  your  selves. 

3.  These  things  Premised,  by  way  of  Caution,  when  you 
have  occasion  to  use  the  Banks  assistance,  Bring  such  secur¬ 
ity  of  Lands  or  goods  as  you  have  to  offer,  and  take  what 
Credit  can,  by  the  Rules  of  the  Bank,  be  afforded  upon  it. 
And  when  you  have  their  Credit,  use  it  in  some  honest  call¬ 
ing,  or  other  just  and  necessary  occasion,  that,  with  God’s 
blessing  on  your  lawfull  indeavors,  you  may  reap  the  bene¬ 
fit  proposed ;  and  may  thereby  be  enabled,  at  the  time  agreed 
on  for  Redemption,  To  pay  in  the  value  of  the  Credit  given 


139 


Reprint 

out,  with  Interest  every  six  months,  after  the  Rate  of  fower 
pounds  P  centu  P  annu,  in  Bank  bills :  and  so  proportionably 
for  lesser  time  than  One  yeare,  if  you  shall  take  out  or  Re- 
deeme  your  Estate  sooner,  (which  you  are  to  have  liberty  to  do 
at  your  pleasure)  But  if  you  shall  Redeeme  it  with  or  make 
any  paym*  in  moneys,  you  must  pay  forty  shillings  more  in 
every  hundred  pounds:  For,  In  order  to  the  satisfaction  and 
incouragement  of  such  as  doubt  they  shall  not  have  money 
for  their  Bills :  and,  To  the  end  the  Current  money  that’s  left 
in  the  Countrey,  may  be  free  for  such  as  desire  it,  The  Bank 
preferre  their  owne  Bills  to  money,  according  to  that  propor¬ 
tion  :  and  thereby  give  demonstration,  that  every  man  that 
hath  Bills  may  procure  money  for  them,  with  advantage,  if 
there  be  moneys  in  the  Countrey. 

4.  If  you  can  not  conveniently  Redeme  your  estate  by  the 
time  agreed,  you  are,  notwithstanding,  before  or  at  the  time 
appoynted,  to  Addresse  your  selfe  to  the  Principall  Managers, 
and  propose  to  them  the  continuance  of  your  Deposit,  for 
such  longer  time  as  you  shall  think  fitt :  And  if  the  same  be 
a  mortgage  of  Lands  of  un-questionable  title,  paying  your 
yearly  Interest  or  praemium  every  six  months,  as  aforesaid, 
to  that  time,  and  charge  of  Registring  your  mortgage,  they 
will  prolong  the  same  from  yeare  to  yeare,  as  long  as  shall 
be  desired,  on  the  same  termes.  If,  of  staple  goods  and 
Merchandizes  unperishable,  (as.  for  instance,  Lead,  Tinn, 
Iron,  Copper  &c)  they  will  do  the  like :  But,  if  of  other  goods 
that  will  be  unsafe  to  keep  longer  than  the  time  contracted 
for,  or  if  any  unforeseene  incumbrances  shall  appeare  on  the 
said  Lands,  or  question  touching  the  validity  of  the  Mort¬ 
gagers  title,  you  must  either  Redeeme  them  at  the  time  or 
times  agreed  on,  or  they  must  and  will  sell  them  as  soone 


140 


Colonial  Currency 

after  as  they  can,  at  the  best  Rates  they  can  get ;  Paying  to 
you  the  overplus  above  the  value  of  the  Credit  issued  upon 
them,  The  interest  then  due  as  aforesaid,  together  with  the 
charges  of  the  warehouseroome  for  the  time  the  sayd  goods 
shall  lye  there  deposited,  and  other  charges  in  sale  therof 
and  removall  if  any  be,  which  they  will  deduct  therout :  For, 
they  must  not  suffer  damage  to  the  Bank,  which  would  also 
be  injurious  to  all  those  concerned  with  them  as  you  are. 

5.  You  may  at  all  usuall  howers  of  the  day  have  accesse 
to  your  goods  in  the  Bank  ware-houses,  (in  the  presence  of 
such  as  the  Principall  Managers  shall  substitute,  and  intrust 
with  the  keys  therof)  to  see  that  your  goods  are  not  damni- 
fyed,  as  also  to  Provide  against  the  same,  and  to  show  them 
to  Chapmen :  In  order  wherunto,  there  will  be  Porters  be¬ 
longing  to  the  Bank,  such  as  they  can  intrust,  and  no  others, 
to  Remove  or  Romage  your  goods,  and  to  do  such  businesse 
about  them  as  you  shall  desire,  you  paying  such  moderate 
Rates  for  your  goods  lying  there,  as,  according  to  their  bulk- 
inesse,  shall  be  judged  fitt,  and  agreed  on  to  be  reasonable 
to  be  allowed  for  the  same,  at  the  time  of  Depositing  them, 
and  during  such  time  only  as  they  shall  continue  there ;  for, 
The  Bank-warehouses  will  be  to  all  men  as  their  owne 
Warehouses,  save  that  none  will  be  admitted  to  come  into 
them,  but  under  observation  that  nothing  be  imbezzled,  or 
unduly  removed  with  out  the  managers  order. 

6.  You  ar&  also  to  Take  notice  by  these  presents  Printed, 
and  to  owne  and  agree  unto  this  as  One  Fundamentall  Rule 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  Bank  (without  agreeing  to  which 
the  Proposers  &  managers  thereof  dare  not  give  you  the  as¬ 
sistance  Proposed)  That,  in  case  the  Creditors  of  this  Bank 
shall  agree  to  desire,  and  accordingly  declare  in  writing, 


Reprint  1 4 1 

That  there  be  a  determination  put  thereto :  Or,  if  on  any 
other  account  whatsoever  the  Determination  therof  shall  be 
judged  necessary  by  the  sayd  Proposers  &  Managers  and 
Declared  in  writing  as  aforesaid  (wch  cannot  be  without 
allowance  and  ascertayning  of  a  reasonable  time  betwixt  the 
said  Creditors  and  the  sayd  Proposers  and  managers  for 
closing  up  the  same,  and  the  Accompts  therof,  so  as  may 
be  without  damage  to  them,  or  either  of  them)  That,  as  no 
person  is  hereby,  or  shall  be  compelled  to  accept  Bank  bills 
of  Credit,  unlesse  he  shall  voluntarily  agree  so  to  do,  and  for 
no  longer  time,  nor  otherwise  than  he  shall  so  consent,  So, 
no  man  paying  his  praemium  &  charges  as  aforesaid  for  the 
Credit  he  hath,  shall  be  compelled  to  Redeeme  his  Pledge, 
being  of  personal  estate,  sooner  than  the  time  contracted  for, 
and  the  nature  of  the  goods  deposited  shall  require.  And  to 
the  End  the  Mortgager  of  Lands,  of  unquestionable  good 
title,  may  not  be  distressed  to  his  undoing,  in  case  he  should, 
by  reason  of  such  Declaration,  be  suddenly  called  upon  to 
Redeeme  the  same,  (which  may  be  impossible  for  him  to  do 
in  some  yeares,  through  the  scarceity  of  moneys)  That  all 
and  every  Mortgager  of  such  Lands,  in  such  case  only,  shall 
or  may  have  and  take  six  years  time  after  such  Declaration 
aforesayd  to  be  allowed  unto  him  his  heirs  or  assignes,  for 
Redemption  of  his  Lands  :  He  or  they  paying  after  the  Rate 
of  six  pounds  P  centu  P  annum,  in  ready  money,  at  the  end 
of  every  six  months,  for  the  continuance  of  the  Credit  he 
had  therupon,  from  such  time  as  the  sayd  Declaration  shall 
be  perfected,  untill  he  shall  Redeem  the  same :  And,  That 
the  Managers  &  undertakers  of- this  Bank  shall  or  may 
have  and  take  One  full  years  time  more,  from  the  expiration 
of  the  sayd  six  yeares,  to  be  allowed  unto  them,  for  selling 


142 


Colonial  Currency 

the  said  Larflds,  or  such  of  them  as  shall  not  within  the  said 
six  yeares  be  redeemed  ;  whereby  they  may  be  enabled  to 
Receive  in  and  exchange  all  Bank-bills  then  granted  forth, 
into  the  now  Current  Coyne  or  moneys  of  this  Countrey,  or 
other  Moneys  being  not  of  more  intrinsique  value  than  what 
now  passes ;  Or  otherwise  satisfy  the  same,  by  such  Propor¬ 
tions  of  the  said  remayning  Lands,  or  other  effects,  as  shall 
be  judged  to  be  of  equall  value ;  Paying  to  all  the  Creditors 
who  shall  then  have  any  Bills  in  their  hands  after  the  same 
Rate  of  Interest,  for  so  long  time  after  publishing  the  said 
Declaration  as  the  said  Bills  shall  remayne  in  the  said  Cred¬ 
itors  hands  un-occupied,  with  Deduction  and  allowance  only 
of  the  praemium  contracted  for,  as  aforesaid  :  And  that  such 
Bank-bills,  as,  before  such  Declaration  made,  have  been  given 
forth,  upon  the  Reall  or  personall  securities  aforementioned 
which  remaine  in  the  possession  of  the  said  Bank,  may  & 
shall  be  esteemed  and  passe  as  Current  moneys,  of  the  value 
of  the  present  Coyne,  in  all  Receipts  &  payments  what  so 
ever,  during  the  sayd  termes. 

Obj.  6.  But,  None  of  the  forementioned  cases  reach  my 
Circumstances  and  Condition  :  My  Lands  or  goods  are  all¬ 
ready  Mortgaged  or  incumbred  to  persons  on  a  higher  Rate 
of  Interest :  and  they  will  not  quitt  them  till  I  can  pay  them 
off.  They  say,  They  will  not  accept  of  Bank-bills :  and  if 
they  would,  you  ’1  not  part  with  any  till  the  Lands,  &c,  be 
really  made  over  to  the  Bank.  Can  you  Releive  me  and 
persons  under  my  circumstances  ? 

Ans.  Doubt  it  not.  If  the  person  you  are  concerned  with 
will  not  be  lead  by  the  Consideration  of  the  Reall  advantages 
to  be  made  by  Bills  beyond  moneys,  herinbefore  exprest, 
There  will  be  other  persons,  whom  you  may  be  informed  of 


1 


1 43 


Reprint 

at  the  Bank,  who,  on  Bank-bills  of  such  sum  or  value  as  you 
should  pay  in  moneys,  and  assurance  of  the  Bank’s  satisfac¬ 
tion  in  the  title  &  value  of  your  Lands  &c  will  provide  and 
lay  downe  the  moneys  you  owe  them,  if  there  be  any  moneys 
in  the  Countrey  to  be  had :  and  you  shall  also  be  assisted 
therin  by  the  Bank’s  Counsell,  Solicitor  or  attorney  at  Law, 
with  advice  &  furtherance,  as  your  case  shall  require,  for  the 
accomplishing  your  desires,  on  very  reasonable  termes. 

Obj.  7.  But  I  have  neither  Lands  nor  Goods,  that  I  can 
spare,  yet  if  I  could  procure  moneys,  or  such  Credit  as  you 
speak  of,  I  have  been  brought  up  to  a  calling  wherin  I  could  live 
and  mantayne  my  family  comfortably,  though  I  payd  a  higher 
Rate  of  Interest  for  it  than  the  Bank  requires  :  And  I  have 
friends  too,  that  would  Assist  me  upon  my  owne  word  or  Bond, 
but  they  say  money  is  not  to  be  had,  and  they  cannot  help  me. 

Ans.  If  your  Friends  have  Lands  or  goods  They  may 
have  this  Credit,  which  will  be  equivalent  with  money,  to 
supply  you  withall,  at  such  Rate  of  Interest  as  you  can 
afford  to  give,  &  as  their  friendship  &  charity  shall  incline 
them :  whereby  (also)  they  may  be  gayners,  and  thereby  in- 
couraged  to  assist  you ;  if  they  judge  you  faithfull  and  labori¬ 
ous  in  any  vocation  likely  to  mantayne  you. 

Much  more  might  be  sayd  upon  this  Subject :  But,  These 
seeme  to  be  sufficient  to  encourage  an  Attempt.  And,  the 
experimente  of  the  things  suggested  will  give  such  cleare 
Demonstrations  of  the  usefullnes,  Advantage  necessity  and 
Security  therof,  as,  Those  who  are  not  so  prompt  to  receive 
things  into  their  understandings  by  the  Notions  of  them,  or 
are  prejudiced  by  mistaken  apprehensions  about  them,  may 
be  presumed  will  follow  others  Examples  in  well-doing,  when 
they  are  observed  to  thrive  who  goe  before  therin. 


•144 


Colonial  Currency 

We  shall  therfore  Sum  up  all  in  this  Generali  Assertion, 
That,  there  will  arise  many  more  conveniencies  &  advantages 
by  this  Bank  than  have  been  Enumerated,  or  well  can  be. 

By  this,  The  trade  and  wealth  of  this  Countrey  is  estab¬ 
lished  upon  it’s  owne  Foundation,  &  upon  a  medium  or  Bal- 
lance  arising  within  it  selfe,  viz4,  The  Lands  &  Products  of 
this  Countrey ;  and  not  upon  the  Importation  of  Gold  or  Sil¬ 
ver  or  the  Scarceity  or  plenty  of  them,  or  of  any  thing  else 
from  Forreigne  Nations,  which  may  be  with-held.  Prohibited 
or  Enhansed,  at  their  pleasures. 

Our  owne  Native  Comodities  will  thus  become  improved 
to  a  sufficiencie  for  our  owne  use  (at  least)  &  thereby  afford 
a  comfortable  subsistence  to  many  ingenious  and  industrious 
persons  amongst  us,  who  know  not  at  present  how  to 
subsist :  and  this  will  draw  over  more  inhabitants  and 
Planters. 

It  will  not  be  in  the  power  of  any,  by  extortion  and  op¬ 
pression,  to  make  a  Prey  of  the  Necessitous. 

The  Fishery  of  these  parts  will  be  improved.  The  Naviga¬ 
tion  and  shipping  increased  for  use  or  sale : 

His  Majesties  Revenues  here,  in  consequence  of  all  these, 
will  be  much  inlarged. 

The  Rents  of  Landed  men  will  be  increased,  and  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  them,  and  all  publique  taxes  facilitated.  Yea,  The 
Purchase  value  of  Lands  will  rise,  For,  the  plenty  of  Money, 
or  a  valuable  Credit  equivalent  therunto,  and  the  Lowering 
of  Interest,  must  necessarily  have  that  effect.  To  which 
may  be  Added,  That,  The  lesse  need  there  is  of  money  by 
reason  of  such  current  Credit,  the  more  will  be  the  increase 
of  money  itself,  as,  is  manifest  in  Holland,  Venice,  and  all 
places  where  Bank  Credit  supplyes  those  species. 


Reprint  145 

In  Order  therfore,  and  as  Preavious  to  the  entring  upon 
this  affayre  :  As  it  hath  been  Deemed  Expedient  to  make 
publication  of  these  things,  in  the  Name  of  the  Proposers, 
for  information  ;  submitting  them  to  the  view  and  Consid¬ 
eration  of  all  men;  That  each  may  know  his  owne  share  and 
interest  in  this  Bank,  and  practice  what  he  shall  approve  : 
So,  These  will  be  shortly  followed  with  the  tender  and  Pro- 
posall  of  a  Subscription  to  be  made  (by  such  as  shall  volun¬ 
tarily  desire  to  be  concern’d  therin)  of  Receiving  and  Paying 
away  the  Bank-bills  of  Credit  that  shall  be  issued  by  this 
Partnership,  as  ready  moneys,  in  all  their  Ordinary  dealings 
of  buying  &  selling  One  with  another,  and  also,  of  and  from 
all  other  persons  with  whom  they  shall  have  to  do  in  their 
traffiquing  affayres,  wherupon  they  are  to  receive  or  pay 
Moneys.  The  Ground  of  which  subscription  is,  To  the  end 
that,  Before  the  Actuall  issuing  out  of  any  Bills,  it  may,  By 
the  returne  of  such  Subscriptions,  be  Rationally  conjectured, 
that  this  undertaking  will  receive  incouragement  by  such 
number  of  persons  of  all  trades,  callings,  Ranks  and  condi¬ 
tions  subscribing  thereto,  as  may  be  judged  sufficient  to  lay 
the  Foundation  of  a  Circulation  and  passing  of  this  Credit, 
as  ready  moneys,  By  a  Generali,  Or  at  least  considerable, 
voluntary  vogue,  though  not  universall  concurrence,  appro¬ 
bation  &  consent,  which  being,  by  the  Returne  of  the  sayd 
subscriptions  made  knowne  to  the  Partnership  shall  be  di¬ 
gested  into  Alphabetical  Lists,  as  well  of  the  names  of  the 
persons  so  subscribing  to  Consent,  as  of  their  respective 
Trades  or  callings,  and  places  of  habitations,  To  lye  in  a 
readines  for  the  view  of  all  who  shall  accept  this  Credit, 
that  they  may  know  with  whom  to  buy  and  sell  in  this  way. 
After  which,  no  further  time  shall  be  lost,  But  the  Proposers 

VOL.  I  —  IO 


1 46  Colonial  Currency 

&  Managers  of  this  Bank  will  suddainly  meet  together,  and 
sitt,  from  day  to  day,  in  some  convenient  place  for  carrying 
on  the  sayd  affayre:  Wherof  notice  shall  be  given,  as  also 
of  the  usuall  howers  of  their  so  meeting:  That  if  any  who 
shall  not  have  subscribed  such  consent,  upon  the  first  tender 
therof,  shall  be  desirous  of  further  satisfaction  by  personall 
conference,  Or,  shall  receive  satisfaction,  and  desire  to  be 
enlisted  as  voluntary  Dealers  with  the  Bank,  they  may  know 
when  and  where  to  apply  themselves,  for  that  purpose :  and 
have  their  names  &c,  incerted  in  such  Alphabeticall  Lists, 
for  observation,  if  they  shall  desire  it. 

Qub  comunius  Eo  melius. 

Finis. 

NOTE  TO  THE  “  DISCOURSE  IN  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  BANK 

OF  CREDIT,”  ETC. 

The  “  Discourse  ”  was  found  among  the  Winthrop  Papers  now  in 
possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  was  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  “Proceedings”  of  the  society  in  1904  1  in  connection 
with  a  communication  made  by  myself  at  the  December  meeting, 
1903,  which  was  separately  published  under  the  title  “The  pro¬ 
spectus  of  Blackwell’s  bank,  1687.”  The  manuscript  bears  the  title 
“  A  Discourse  ”  etc.,  on  the  outside  of  the  first  leaf,  which  also  serves 
as  cover.  The  leaves  measure  5-J  by  inches.  There  are  thirty- 
four  written  pages.  The  handwriting  has  been  identified  as  that  of 
Capt.  John  Blackwell,  and  inasmuch  as  Blackwell,  when  the  project 
was  abandoned,  put  in  a  claim  for  disbursements  to  a  clerk  for 
writing  “  out  the  abstracts  of  the  book  intended  to  be  printed  be¬ 
sides  what  I  wrote  with  my  owne  hand,”  2  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  we  have  here  the  work  on  which  a  part  of  the  claim  was  based. 

1  Second  Series,  Vol.  XVIII,  pp.  62-81. 

3  Andros  Tracts,  Prince  Society  Publications,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  21. 


Note 


147 


The  various  documents  in  the  archives  relating  to  this  bank  refer 
to  Blackwell  as  the  promoter  of  the  Bank  of  Credit,  to  aid  in  the 
formation  of  which  the  “  Discourse”  was  prepared.  He  was  at  that 
time  a  recent  comer  in  Boston.  Palfrey  says  that  he  had  been  a 
treasurer  in  the  English  army  and  a  member  of  parliament,  and 
had  married  a  daughter  of  General  Lambert.1  In  1686  he  ran  in  the 
preliminary  contest  for  election  as  a  nominee  to  the  Court  of  Assist¬ 
ants.  He  was  twenty-sixth  on  the  list  from  which  eighteen  were  to 
be  selected  at  the  subsequent  election,  thus  reaching  a  nomination 
although  his  vote  was  less  than  one  third  the  vote  of  Simon  Brad- 
street.2  His  elevation  to  positions  of  public  consideration  was  the 
cause  of  comment  on  the  part  of  Edward  Randolph,  who  complained 
in  his  letters  that  notwithstanding  Blackwell’s  previous  record  he  was 
“  a  man  consulted  in  all  public  affairs.”  3 

His  name  appears  in  a  grant  of  the  Bahama  Islands  to  twenty-six 
persons,  and  this  put  the  indefatigable  John  T.  Hassam  upon  his 
trail.  Seven  pages  are  devoted  by  Hassam  to  the  career  of  “John 
Blackwell,  Jr.,”  our  “Captain  John  Blackwell,”  in  “The  Bahama 
Islands :  notes  on  an  early  attempt  at  colonization,”  a  paper  read 
before  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.4 

By  a  curious  coincidence,  another  investigator,  renowned  for  his 
industry  and  acuteness  in  running  down  recondite  subjects,  had 
already  made  Blackwell’s  career  the  subject  of  special  research.  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull,  in  his  “  First  essays  at  banking  in  New  Eng¬ 
land  ”  originally  published  as  the  Council  Report  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  in  the  “  Proceedings  ”  of  that  society  for  October, 
1884,  was  led  to  collate  the  facts  on  record  relating  to  Blackwell’s 
career,  through  his  connection  with  the  Bank  of  Credit,  of  which  the 
“  Discourse  ”  is  the  prospectus.  The  future  biographer  of  Blackwell 
may  not  hope  for  many  new  contributions  to  his  subject  from  work- 

1  Palfrey’s  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  498,  note.  See  also  Pro¬ 
ceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  New  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  276. 

2  Hutchinson’s  Collection  of  papers,  1769,  p.  543. 

8  Toppan’s  Edward  Randolph,  Prince  Society  Publications,  Vol.  IV,  p.  t  1 3. 

4  Proceedings  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Second  Series,  Vol.  XIII, 
pp.  20-27. 


148  Colonial  Currency 

ing  over  ground  already  traversed  by  Palfrey,  Trumbull,  and  Hassam. 
New  material  alone  can  aid  him.1 

The  “  Discourse  ”  is  reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Mass¬ 
achusetts  Historical  Society  and  the  facsimile  of  the  manuscript 
title-page  has  been  obtained  through  the  courtesy  of  that  society. 

The  names  of  Joseph  Dudley,  William  Stoughton,  Wait  Winthrop, 
Simon  Lynde,  James  Russell,  Isaac  Addington,  Elisha  Hutchinson, 
John  Saffin,  Adam  Winthrop  and  Elisha  Cooke  are  mentioned  as 
being  connected  with  the  organization  of  this  bank. 

Joseph  Dudley’s  career  was  continuously  conspicuous,  for  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  held  office  either  by  appointment  or 
election.  His  name  is  to  be  found  in  “  Appletons’  Cyclopaedia  of 
American  Biography”  and  his  life  was  written  at  some  length  by 
Mr.  Sibley  in  “  Harvard  Graduates.”  He  figures  of  course  in  all  the 
histories  of  New  England.  There  is  no  occasion,  therefore,  for  any 
extended  notice  of  him  here.  It  is  enough  to  mention  certain  of  the 
more  prominent  events  in  his  career.  He  was  president  of  the 
council  after  the  annulment  of  the  charter.  After  Andros  was  de¬ 
posed,  he  was  among  those  who  were  arrested  and  confined  in  the 
castle,  and  he  was  deported  with  Andros.  Later  he  was  appointed 
royal  governor  of  the  province,  which  office  he  held  from  1702  to 
1715- 

William  Stoughton  was  also  a  prominent  man  in  Massachusetts. 
He  served  as  an  assistant  for  many  years ;  was  a  member  of  An¬ 
dros’s  council,  and  was  one  of  those  who  wrested  the  Government 
from  Andros.2  In  1692,  he  was  appointed  lieutenant-governor,  and 
at  the  death  of  Sir  William  Phips  he  became  acting  governor.  He 
was  chief  justice  of  the  superior  court  and  held  that  office  during 
the  witchcraft  trials.  His  name  was  honored  at  Cambridge  by  being 
associated  in  1698  with  the  first  Stoughton  Hall  which  he  caused  to 
be  erected,  and  the  honor  was  perpetuated  by  the  title  being  at¬ 
tached  to  the  present  building,  after  the  first  Stoughton  Hall  was 

1  It  is  stated  in  the  Introduction,  that  Blackwell  was  for  a  time  at  the  head  of 
the  government  of  Pennsylvania.  Channing’s  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  125,  126. 
Blackwell  corresponded  with  Penn  on  the  subject  of  a  Bank.  Pennsylvania 
Colonial  Records,  Vol.  I,  p.  236. 

2  Neal’s  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  II,  p.  431. 


Note 


149 


torn  down.  The  publicity  of  his  career  has  also  made  his  name 
familiar  with  readers  of  New  England  history  and  biography.1 

Wait  Winthrop,  whose  full  name  was  Wait  Still  Winthrop,  was  a 
grandson  of  the  governor.  He  was  a  councillor  for  about  thirty 
years,  held  various  judicial  appointments,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
the  overthrow  of  Andros.2 

Simon  Lynde  finds  mention  in  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston.3 
The  sketch  of  his  life  given  in  the  second  volume  is  brief  and  un¬ 
important  He  was  connected  with  the  ancient  and  honourable 
artillery  company,  having  served  as  a  soldier  in  King  Philip’s  war 
and  having  filled  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  artillery  company, 
as  well  as  that  of  first  sergeant.  Comparatively  little  has  been 
discovered  concerning  his  career.  He  figures  in  the  History  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company.4  He  was  a  councillor 
1688-1689.6 

James  Russell  was  a  conspicuous  man  in  the  colony  for  many 
years.  He  was  a  representative ;  was  treasurer  of  the  colony;  was 
of  the  council  of  safety  in  1689;  was  judge  of  probate;  judge  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas ;  and  councillor.  A  brief  sketch  of  his 
life  will  be  found  in  the  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable 
Artillery  Company.  6 

Isaac  Addington  was  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  province,  and  his  name  in  consequence  is  familiar  to 
students  of  the  period.  He  was  generally  known  as  Secretary 
Addington,  although  he  filled  the  offices  of  speaker  of  the  house, 
assistant,  and  judge  in  the  course  of  his  career.7 

Elisha  Hutchinson  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  day.  A  sketch  of 
his  life  will  be  found  in  the  note  to  “  Some  additional  considera¬ 
tions,  addressed  unto  the  worshipful  Elisha  Hutchinson  esq.,”  etc. 

John  Saffin  was  not  so  prominent  a  person  in  the  colony  as  he 

1  See  Harvard  Graduates,  Vol.  I,  p.  194. 

3  See  History  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  296. 

8  Vol.  I,  p.  586;  Vol.  II,  p.  448,  p.  558. 

4  Vol.  I,  p.  187. 

6  Palfrey’s  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  604. 

*  Vol.  I,  p.  212. 

7  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  Vol.  II,  p.  542. 


150  Colonial  Currency 

would  probably  have  been  had  his  residence  here  been  more  perma¬ 
nent,  but  his  name  is  linked  with  a  controversy  which  is  destined  to 
make  him  much  more  conspicuous  in  the  future,  than  many  of  his 
neighbors  of  greater  social  and  political  prominence.  He  came 
to  Scituate  about  1646,  and  went  to  Virginia  in  1654,  where  he 
remained  for  a  few  years,  when  he  returned  to  Massachusetts 
and  entered  into  business.  In  this  he  was  apparently  successful, 
although  some  of  his  ventures  were  not  altogether  reputable.  He 
is  known  to  have  imported  negroes  clandestinely  from  Guinea.  In 
Massachusetts  he  held  office  as  a  deputy  and  was  elected  speaker  of 
the  house.  His  restless  spirit,  however,  uprooted  him  from  here, 
and  he  went  to  Bristol,  where  he  was  elected  to  the  general  court 
of  Plymouth.  In  1692,  on  the  juncture  of  the  colonies,  he  was  ap¬ 
pointed  justice  of  the  inferior  court  of  common  pleas.  From  1693 
to  1699  he  was  councillor.  He  was  for  a  brief  period  a  justice  of 
the  superior  court  of  judicature. 

He  had  a  controversy  with  a  slave  named  Adam,  whom  he 
had  conditionally  manumitted.  The  proceedings  lingered  in  the 
courts  for  years  and  brought  forth  from  Judge  Samuel  Sewall  a 
brochure  entitled  “  The  Selling  of  Joseph,”  in  which  he  pleaded  for 
the  emancipation  of  negroes.  Saffin  replied  to  this  in  a  pam¬ 
phlet  entitled  “  A  Brief  and  Candid  Reply  to  a  late  Printed  Sheet 
Entituled  The  Selling  of  Joseph,”  etc.  The  story  of  this  con¬ 
troversy  is  told  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Colonial  Society  of 
Massachusetts.1 

Adam  Winthrop  was  a  grandson  of  the  governor,  and  was  de¬ 
clared  by  the  general  court  to  be  the  proprietor  of  Governor’s 
Island,  for  which  he  stood  charged  with  the  rental  of  two  bushels  of 
apples  yearly  to  the  general  court.  After  graduation  at  Harvard 
College  he  lived  for  a  while  at  Bristol,  England,  where  he  married, 
and  after  a  few  years  returned  to  Boston.  He  filled  many  public 
offices,  and  the  reports  of  the  Boston  record  commissioners  show  that 
he  was  held  in  high  esteem  and  was  frequently  made  use  of  by  his 
fellow  townsmen.  He  was  representative,  councillor,  commissioner, 
selectman,  captain  of  militia,  judge  of  superior  court,  and  third  ser- 


1  Vol.  I,  p.  85  et  seq. 


Note 


1 5 1 

geant  of  the  artillery  company.1  He  was  conspicuous  in  promoting 
the  downfall  of  Andros.2 

Dr.  Elisha  Cooke  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  the  class 
of  1657.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  when  the  Andros  troubles  oc¬ 
curred,  and  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits  in  asserting  the  rights  of 
the  colony.  His  connection  with  these  events  and  the  responsibility 
that  he  personally  had  for  Dudley’s  imprisonment  brought  upon  him 
the  hostility  of  Dudley,  and  when  the  latter  was  governor  he  nega¬ 
tived  Cooke’s  choice  for  councillor,  when  the  general  court  elected 
him,  until  the  last  year  of  his  service  as  governor.  When  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  a  new  charter  was  up,  Cooke  was  uncompromisingly  in 
favor  of  clinging  to  the  old  charter,  and  was  unrelenting  in  his  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  charter  of  1691.  He  sought  for  flaws  in  it  and  contin¬ 
uously  advocated  whatever  doctrine  would  prove  troublesome  to 
its  administrators.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  opposition  to  the 
royal  governors  which  was  persistently  maintained  until  it  numbered 
amongst  its  followers  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts.  He 
was  wealthy,  influential,  and  of  social  importance.  His  life  is  sketched 
in  the  Memorial  History  of  Boston 3  and  in  Sibley's  Harvard 
Graduates.4 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  that  I  have  derived  from  Mr. 
Henry  E.  Woods,  Commissioner  of  Public  Records,  in  preparing 
these  sketches.  His  familiarity  with  the  sources  from  which  informa¬ 
tion  could  be  obtained  and  his  readiness  to  co-operate,  has  been  of 
great  service.  Even  though  the  result  be  that  we  are  able  to  pre¬ 
sent  only  desultory  and  imperfect  sketches  of  these  lives,  we  have 
enough  at  our  command  to  demonstrate  the  power  of  the  body  of 
men  who  organized  this  bank. 

1  Harvard  Graduates,  Vol. II,  p.  249;  History  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artil¬ 
lery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  29 5. 

2  Neal’s  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  II,  p.  431. 

8  Vol.  I,  p.  579. 


4  Vol.  I,  p.  520. 


V 


) 

i 


i 


■£' 


-C 


\ 


* 


as- : 

*1 

£ 

f- 


For  Erefting  a  f 

$mtfc  of  Cr 

WITH  A 

DISCOURSE 

■Adapted  to  the  Ule  scarcity 

Countrey ,  where  there  is  a  Scarcity 

C  j  of  MONEYS: 

More  EfpeciaUy  for  his  Ma jetties  Plantations 
1  in  AMERICA 

Quo  Convnunius  eo  Melius. 


mi 


SI 


,  V 


LONDON, 


hi 

;  S 

■■3 

I 


printed  by  y.-A.  for  Thomas  Cockeril  atti^Tbree  ^ 
'  Ugl  in  the  TouUrey  overagamft.  th.  J 


A 


MODEL 

For  Erecting  a 

l&anfc  of  Cretitt: 

WITH  A 

DISCOURSE 

In  Explanation  thereof. 

Adapted  to  the  Ufe  of  any  Trading 
Countrey,  where  there  is  a  Scarcity 
of  M  O  N  E  Y  S : 

More  Efpecially  for  his  Majeflies  Plantations 
in  AMERICA . 

Quo  Communius  eo  Melius. 


LONDON, 

Printed  by  J.  A.  for  Thomas  Cockeril  at  the  Three 
Leggs  in  the  Poultrey ,  over  againft  the 
Stocks-Market ,  1688. 


154 


Colonial  Currency 


[1]  A  MODEL  for  Erecting  a  Bank  of  Credit  Lumbard 
and  Exchange  of  Moneys,  Founded  on  Lands,  Goods,  and 
Merchandizes :  To  be  undertaken  and  managed  by  Persons 
of  good  Reputation,  Prudence  and  Estates,  in  a  voluntary 
Partnership ,  as  other  Merchantly  Affairs  :  Adapted  for  the 
Use  of  any  Countrey,  or  Trading  part,  where  there  is  a 
Scarcity  of  Moneys ;  and,  in  want  thereof,  they  are  con¬ 
strained  to  tru<ck,  or  Barter  by  Commodities,  &c.  wherein 
is  discoursed, 

« 

1.  Some  things  by  way  of  Premise ,  touching  Banks  ifi 
General. 

2.  The  Definition  of  such  a  Bank . 

3.  The  Constitution . 

4.  The  necessary  Rules  to  be  observed. 

5.  The  Particular  Advantages  thereof  to  those  that  shall 
voluntarily  deal  with  such  a  Partnership. 

6.  Some  of  the  most  material  and  pertinent  Queries  and 
Objections  thereto ,  Resolved  and  answered. 

7.  The  Conclusion  by  way  of  Animadversion ,  upon  the 
whole :  Briefly , 


Of  the  First ,  viz.  Some  things  premised  for  Introduction , 

touching  Banks  in  general. 


MOney,  whether  Gold  or  Silver,  is  but  a  measure 
of  the  value  of  other  things;  yet  hath  for  a  long 
Succession  of  Ages  (especially  in  the  Civilized 
and  trading  part  of  [2]  the  World)  obtained  to  be  the  usual, 
and  best  known  means  of  Interchange. 

This  measure  and  way  of  Interchange,  was  originally  oc¬ 
casioned  by  the  experimented  inconveniences  of  common 


155 


Reprint 

Barter ;  in  which  way,  unless  both  the  Parties  dealing,  have 
like  occasion,  reciprocally,  of  each  others  commodities,  the 
less  necessitous  over-reaches  the  greater,  by  imposing  the 
price  of  both,  to  his  own  advantage,  and  the  others  detri¬ 
ment,  which  is  not  Equal,  nor  can  there  be  Equality,  where 
there  is  no  common  standard  between  them. 

But,  whether  the  Mines  fail,  or  Men  have  not  been  so  fore¬ 
seeing  and  industrious  to  bring  in,  to  most  Countrys,  a 
sufficiency  of  Money  or  Bullion,  wherewith  to  manage  their 
increasing  trades;  or,  that  Traders,  for  want  of  other  Re¬ 
turns,  have  been  necessitated,  for  Ballance  of  the  Surcharge 
of  goods  imported,  to  remit  the  Coyns  of  some  Countreys 
into  others;  Or,  for  other  causes  (not  necessary  on  this 
occasion  to  be  further  inquired  into)  ’tis  now  so  hard  to 
come  by,  in  some  places,  for  carrying  on  of  trade,  to  answer 
the  vastness  of  Mens  attempts,  and  aims  of  increase  in  Mer¬ 
chandize,  as  that  its  found,  in  in  Many  Countreys,  insuffi¬ 
cient  in  this  Age  of  the  World :  And  that  hath  put  divers 
Persons  and  Countreys,  upon  contrivances  how  to  supply 
that  Deficiency,  by  other  Mediums  ;  some  of  which  have 
happily  pitch’d  upon  that  of  Banks,  Lum  bards,  and  Ex¬ 
change  of  Moneys  by  Bills,  which  have  thriven  with  them. 

[3]  The  two  former  of  these,  viz .  Banks  and  Lumbards, 
have  been  set  on  foot  in  divers  trading  Countreys,  by 
their  respective  Publique  undertakings,  and  have  succeeded 
to  their  abundant  inriching.  Perhaps  others  have  thought 
that  would  have  occasioned  the  overflowing  of  Moneys 
amongst  them :  Especially  if  they  raised  the  values  of 
Gold  and  Silver  above  the  common  Standard ;  but  as  they 
have  been  mistaken,  or  their  Surfeit  of  trade  hath  ob¬ 
scured  the  visibility  of  it ;  and  protracted  more  rational 


1 5  6  Colonial  Currency 

Considerations  of  redressing,  till  it  hath  proved  almost 
Fatal,  to  the  impoverishing  of  their  Countreys;  So,  the 
other  having  really  experimented,  that  their  Banks  have 
been,  as  well  with  other  Countreys,  as  amongst  them¬ 
selves,  of  greater  value  than  the  species  of  Gold  and 
Silver:  And  yet,  such  places  drain  away  the  said  species 
from  the  other,  who  under  those  mistaken  apprehensions 
have  Courted  it,  as  the  only  reall  good  thing  for  a 
Countrey. 

The  Third,  viz.  That  of  Exchange  of  Moneys,  hath  been 
for  the  most  part  managed  by  the  respective  Merchants  of 
all  places;  who  in  their  particular  dealings  and  Corres¬ 
pondences  (fore-laying  advantages  to  themselves  thereby) 
have  unaccountably  controll’d  it,  and  vary  it  often,  in  each 
Annual  Revolution. 

’Tis  not  to  be  doubted,  but  that  all  three  of  these  may 
be  accommodated  and  improved,  to  the  publick  Advantage 
of  any  Countrey :  Especially,  if  managed  in  Partnership 
by  private  hands,  being  Persons  of  known  Integrity,  Pru¬ 
dence  and  [4]  Estates:  subjecting  the  annual  Profits  accru¬ 
ing  thereby  to  the  answering  the  Injury,  damage,  or  loss, 
by  their  undertaking. 

The  best  Foundation  for  such  an  Attempt,  is,  that  of 
Real  and  Personal  Estates,  instead  of  the  species  of  Gold 
and  Silver.  For,  as  a  Bank  of  Moneys  is  liable  to  many 
casualties  and  hazards ;  so,  the  hoarding  up  of  Moneys  in 
Banks,  necessitates  the  taking  out  the  more  Bills;  which 
is  one  Malady  this  Proposed  Bank  will  cure. 

We  shall  therefore,  at  present,  begin  with,  and  principally 
discourse  of  the  two  first  of  these :  viz .  The  Bank  of  Credit, 
as  it  may  be  rendred  susceptible  of  the  Second,  viz.  The 


157 


Reprint 

Lumbard,  conjunct:  accounting  both  the  one  and  the 
other  to  be  founded  as  aforesaid,  viz.  On  Lands  or  Real 
Estates  mortgaged,  and  staple  durable  Goods,  and  Mer¬ 
chandizes  deposited :  such  as  any  Countreys  Products  and 
Manufactures  will  by  Art  and  Industry  produce  and  furnish. 

Here  might  be  also  discours’d,  A  Lumbard  for  the  Poor, 
by  some  called,  Mons  Pietatis :  But  that ’s  fitter  to  be  the 
Handmaid  of  the  other;  for,  ’twill  be  too  poor  to  encourage 
an  undertaking  by  it  self,  or  for  a  beginning:  Neither  will 
there  to  be  any  such  necessity  thereof,  when  this  Bank  is 
settled;  forasmuch  as  this  will  imploy  most  of  those,  who 
are  usually  maintained  in  Idleness,  if  they  will  betake  them¬ 
selves  to  Industry,  at  such  moderate  wages  as  would  enable 
them  to  live  comfortably,  without  exposing  their  Imployers 
to  like  Poverty  with  themselves.  [5]  And  besides,  this  Bank 
of  Credit  and  Lumbard  when  understood,  and  received  in 
any  Countrey  with  general  Approbation,  will  in  due  time 
render  that,  as  also  the  Third,  viz.  that  of  the  Exchange  of 
Moneys  by  Bills,  the  more  intelligible  and  as  usefull. 

Of  the  second  Particular ,  viz.  The  definition  of  such  a 

Bank . 

A  Considerable  number  of  persons,  some  of  each  Rank, 
Trade,  Calling  and  Condition  especially  in  the  prin¬ 
cipal  Place  or  places  of  Trading  in  any  Countrey,  Agree 
voluntarily  to  Receive,  as  ready  Moneys,  of  and  from  each 
other,  and  any  Persons  in  their  ordinary  dealings,  Bank-bills 
of  Credit,  signed  by  several  Persons  of  good  Repute,  joyned 
together  in  a  Partnership,  given  forth  on  Lands  of  good 
title  mortgaged,  and  staple  unperishing  Goods  and  Mer- 


158  Colonial  Currency 

chandizes,  deposited  in  fitting  places  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Partnership  for  that  purpose ;  to  the  value  of  about  one  half, 
or  two  thirds  of  such  respective  Mortgages  and  Deposits : 
Which  said  Bills,  through  their  experimented  usefulness, 
become  diffused  by  mutual  consent ;  and  passing  from  one 
hand  to  another,  in  a  kind  of  Circulation,  and  under  reputa¬ 
tion  of  so  certain  a  Fund,  have  at  least  equal  Advantages 
with  the  Current  Money  or  Coyn  of  any  Countrey,  attend¬ 
ing  them,  to  all  who  become  satisfied  to  deal  with  them. 

Q.  But  it  may  be  said  by  some,  This  is  a  [6]  very  brief 
account,  and  requires  further  Explanation.  We  are  yet 
Strangers  to  the  Nature,  and  requisite  Constitution  of  a 
Bank  of  Credit,  and  what  lies  on  us  to  do,  in  order  to  our 
being  made  partakers  of  any  benefits  or  advantages  thereby, 
to  such  as  shall  voluntarily  comply  therewith;  nor  do  we 
see  clearly  our  security  in  so  doing,  nor  upon  what  terms. 
Pray  inform  us  of  these  things,  so  far  as  we  may  be  safely 
guided  into  the  way,  and  unto  the  end  of  it.  Also,  in  case 
this  Bank  should  terminate,  how  we  shall  be  dealt  withal,  in 
the  closing  up  of  Accompts,  so  as  may  be  without  damage, 
either  to  the  Bank,  or  to  our  selves.  We  doubt  not  but  you 
have  as  well  considered  the  end  as  the  beginning.  Though, 
if  it  prove  useful,  we  can  see  no  cause  why  a  thing  of  so 
great  advantages  as  are  suggested,  should  procure  any  per¬ 
sons  ill  Will,  or  weariness  of  it.  And  we  are  also  satisfied, 
that  an  affair  of  this  nature,  wherein  the  Persons  and  Estates 
of  so  many  shall  be  involved  (as  it  seems  probable  will  be 
where  it  once  gets  footing)  cannot  suddainly  be  knock’d  off 
but  with  inconvenience. 

Answ .  The  clearing  these  Doubts  you’l  find  in  the  par¬ 
ticulars  following.  Therefore,  now, 


Reprint 


159 


Of  the  third  Particular ,  viz.  The  Constitution  of  this 

Bank . 

IT  is  proposed  that  there  be  One  and  twenty  Persons  (or 
less)  in  the  Partnership  of  this  Bank :  Whereof  seven  to 
be  called  Principal  Ma-[7]nagers ;  who,  or  any  three  or 
more  of  them  may  have  the  power  of  managing  and  govern¬ 
ing  the  whole  affair,  according  to  the  Constitution  &  Rules 
thereof ;  and  fourteen  Deputies,  to  be  imployed  by  them  as 
Accomptants,  Surveyors,  Appraisers,  Store  Keepers,  &c. 
All  of  them  to  be  Persons  of  good  and  general  Reputation 
for  Integrity,  Prudence  and  Estates :  But,  forasmuch  as,  at 
the  first  entrance  upon  such  an  affair,  it  may  not  be  needful 
to  ingage  so  many ;  That  any  three,  five  or  seven  of  them 
(more  or  less)  may  be  conceived  sufficient  to  begin  the 
same ;  and  manage  it  until,  by  the  coming  on  of  buisiness, 
it  shall  be  judged  necessary  and  incouraging,  to  settle  the 
full,  or  some  greater  number  of  them.  These  may  all  be 
ingaged  by  Articles  of  Agreement,  and  Covenants  in  Part¬ 
nership,  to  attend  thereon,  and  be  responsible  for  their 
doings,  according  to  such  Constitution  and  Rules  in  that 
behalf. 

These  are  to  receive  all  Proposals  from  any  Persons 
touching  their  having  such  Credit  thereout  as  they  shall 
desire  upon  their  said  Estates  of  Lands  or  Goods  respec¬ 
tively  ;  and  to  contract  and  agree  with  them  therein,  at  such 
values,  and  for  such  time  as  they  shall  judge  the  security 
proposed  of  either  kind  will  admit,  and  to  draw  up,  and  per¬ 
fect  such  Bank-Bills,  Bills  of  Sale,  Mortgages,  Grants  and 


1 60  Colonial  Currency 

Defezances  thereof,  as  Lands  or  Goods  respectively  shall 
require ;  and  perfect  the  Counterparts  thereof,  to  the  Mort¬ 
gagers  and  Depositors. 

They  are  also  to  cause  the  said  Mortgages  and  [8]  De¬ 
posits  to  be  laid  up  and  stored,  respectively,  in  as  safe  and 
convenient  Rooms,  and  Ware-houses,  &c.  as  shall  be  with¬ 
out  exception,  to  prevent  damage  of  Weather,  Robbery,  Fire, 
Water  or  Vermin  of  any  kind,  whereby  they  may  be  im¬ 
paired,  or  dampnified,  and  all  this  under  the  trust  and  cus¬ 
tody  of  such  numbers  of  the  said  Partners,  as  no  opportunity 
can  be  taken  to  impair  or  lessen  the  security,  unless  they 
should  all  agree  therein ;  which  cannot  reasonably  be  imag¬ 
ined,  being  such  as  are  proposed.  But  for  the  better  secu¬ 
rity  thereof,  there  may  be  continual  watching  on  all  such 
places ;  and  it  will  be  the  Interest  of  all  persons,  any  way 
concerned  in  the  affairs  and  profits  of  such  a  Bank,  to  be 
careful  to  prevent,  and  to  give  Advertisement  of  any  attempt 
made  to  the  impairing  and  prejudicing  thereof,  for  that  their 
livelihood  and  dependences  will  much  consist,  in  their  pre¬ 
serving  it  in  the  greatest  Repute;  which  upon  the  least 
violation,  by  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  management  and 
trust  thereof,  will  be  utterly  lost,  and  the  Bank  fall  to  the 
Ground. 

These  Partners  aforesaid,  must  also  enter  into  and  oblige 
themselves  by  Covenants  to,  and  with  other  Persons  to  be 
called  Assessors  of  the  Bank,  and  Conservators  of  the  Con¬ 
stitution,  Rules,  and  Instructions  to  be  observed  in  the 
management  thereof,  for  their  diligence  and  faithfulness,  in 
the  discharge  and  Execution  of  their  respective  trusts,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  said  Constitution :  and  inviolably  to  observe 
the  same,  and  all  the  Rules  thereof. 


1 6 1 


Reprint 

[9]  The  said  Assessors  have  also  the  Oversight  and  Con- 
troll  of  the  whole  Affair:  To  see  the  same  be  so  managed: 
and  to  that  end  are  daily  to  inspect  the  management  thereof ; 

and  that  the  said  Rules  be  duly  observed  on  both  parts,  viz. 

* 

as  well  on  the  part  of  the  persons  dealing  with  them,  as  of 
the  managers  themselves,  in  every  branch  of  the  Bank,  that 
all  be  done  with  Justice  and  Impartiality  between  them ;  to 
settle  differences,  in  case  any  happen;  and  in  the  absence 
of  the  Managers,  may  supply  that  defect,  by  their  personal 
transacting  the  same  things,  or  allowing  others  as  their 
Deputies.  Also, 

Each  of  the  said  Partners  must  deposit  Moneys  and  other 
Estate  in  the  Bank  as  a  Stock  or  Fund,  of  their  own  ;  which 
be  a  further  Security  and  Obligation  upon  them,  for  their 
upright  dealings:  For  thereby  every  of  themselves  become 
personally  interested,  and  concerned  to  be  careful  in  every 
thing,  that  they  keep  the  Rules ;  and  all  Persons  concerned 
in  the  yearly  profits  thereof  are  liable,  according  to  the  Con¬ 
stitution,  to  answer  the  damages,  as  far  as  their  respective 
shares  thereof  extend. 

Of  the  fourth  Particular ,  viz.  The  necessary  Rules  to  be 

observed  in  this  Bank . 

i.  TA Tprimis,  That  the  Partners  in  the  management  of  the 

1  said  Bank  do  sit  in  some  convenient  place,  of  the 
chief  trading  Town  of  each  Countrey,  from  day  to  day,  and 
[10]  at  such  hours  as  the  business  and  occasions  thereof  shall 
require;  to  receive  Proposals  from  any  persons,  touching 
their  having  such  Credit  as  they  shall  desire ;  and  for  draw¬ 
ing  up  and  perfecting  such  Bank-bills,  Mortgages,  Bills  of 

VOL.  I  —  II 


162 


Colonial  Currency 

Sale  and  Defezances  thereof,  as  Lands  or  Goods  respectively 
shall  require ;  Also  for  giving  information  and  satisfaction 
concerning  the  security,  benefits  and  advantages  accruing 
thereby,  to  such  as  shall  desire  to  deal  with  them  therein ; 
and  to  take  Subscriptions  for  that  purpose. 

2.  Item,  That  whatsoever  Person  shall  propose  to  Mort¬ 
gage  or  Deposit  any  staple  Goods  or  Merchandizes,  Lands, 
Tenements  or  Hereditaments  of  a  clear  and  good  title,  to  the 
said  Partnership,  may  have  such  and  so  many  Bills  delivered 
to  him  as  shall  amount  to  about  the  value  or  sum  of  one 
half,  or  two  thirds  of  the  said  Estates;  or  more  or  less 
according  as  his  occasions  shall  require,  and  the  nature  of 
the  Depositors  security  will  admit.  Paying  for  the  use 
of  the  said  Bills,  after  the  rate  of  four  pounds  per  Cent,  per 
annum ,  in  like  Bills,  at  the  end  of  every  six  Months,  for  so 
long  time  as  he  and  they  shall  agree  for  the  same. 

3.  Item,  That  if  at  the  Expiration  of  the  term  agreed  for, 
the  Mortgager  or  Depositor  shall  desire  the  continuance 
thereof,  for  such  further  time  as  the  partnership  shall  judge 
the  nature  thereof  will  admit,  the  same  shall  be  allowed  upon 
the  same  terms ;  and  if  any  person  shall  desire  to  redeem 
them  sooner  than  the  time  agreed  on,  he  shall  have  liberty 
so  to  do,  paying  only  for  such  [11]  time  as  they  continue 
deposited  or  unredeemed.  And  shall  be  allowed  to  pay 
in  any  Even  summs  (not  being  under  ten  Pounds)  in  part 
thereof,  if  he  shall  think  fit  to  do  so,  to  lessen  his  Debt  and 
charges. 

4.  Item,  That  the  Redemption  thereof  be  by  Bank  bills 
of  Credit,  or  such  other  Deposits  as  the  Partnership  shall 
approve  of.  But  if  by  Moneys  in  specie,  that  there  be  an 
Addition  of  Forty  Shillings  more  in  every  hundred  Pounds 


Reprint  1 63 

paid  in  Money,  than  in  the  said  Bills.  For  they  desire  not 
the  ingrossing  of  Coyne,  or  streightning  mens  occasions 
thereby. 

5.  Item ,  That  if  it  shall  happen  that  any  payments  shall  be 
made  in  ready  Money,  such  Persons  as  having  any  of  the 
said  Bills  in  their  hands,  which  they  would  have  Exchanged 
to  answer  their  occasions  for  Money,  and  shall  seasonably 
desire  the  same,  shall  be  accomodated  therewith,  upon  the 
delivery  up  of  Bills  to  such  value. 

6.  Item ,  That  there  be  One  or  more  Persons  allowed  by 
the  Partnership  in  the  Nature  of  Merchant-brokers,  to  cor¬ 
respond  between  the  Persons  who  have,  and  who  want 
Moneys,  and  Bills  respectively,  to  assist  their  respective 
occasions. 

7.  Item ,  That  if  any  Person  shall  not  redeem  his  Pledge, 
or  pay  his  Interest  at  the  respective  times  agreed  on  (being 
of  Goods  or  Personal  Estate,  the  continuance  whereof  may 
be  hazardous)  the  Partnership,  giving  notice  thereof,  may 
Sell  the  same  at  the  best  Rates  they  can  get,  either  in 
ready  Moneys,  or  Bank  Bills,  rendring  the  Overplus  to  the 
Depositor. 

[12]  8.  Item,  That  if  any  Person  be  Rob’d  of,  or  lose  any 
Bill  or  Bills,  by  accidents  of  Fire,  Water  or  otherwise.  He 
may  have  them  renewed,  if  he  forthwith  apply  to  the 
Partnership,  and  make  a  voluntary  Oath  thereof,  before  a 
Magistrate,  expressing  the  Number,  Value  and  Date  of  each 
Bill  or  Bills;  and  securing  the  Partnership  against  all  after 
demands  for  the  same  Bills :  It  appearing  by  the  Bank¬ 
books,  that  such  Bill  or  Bills  were  issued  thereout,  and  have 
not  been  returned. 

9.  Item ,  That  all  Bank  Bills  of  Credit  be  Signed  by  two 


1 64  Colonial  Currency 

or  more  of  the  said  Partners,  (whereof  one  to  be  a  principal 
manager)  who  are  thereby  held,  to  oblige  themselves,  and 
all  and  every  their  Partners  of  the  said  Bank,  to  accept  the 
same  for  so  much  Currant  Moneys  as  shall  be  in  them 
respectively  mentioned,  in  Payment,  for  Redemption  or 
purchase  of  any  Estate  in  the  said  Bank,  according  to  the 
Rules  thereof:  and  that  all  such  bills  be  duly  entred,  in 
Books  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose,  and  the  Indented 
Counter-part  thereof  filed,  before  the  same  be  issued. 

10.  Item ,  That  all  Goods  deposited,  be  laid  up  and 
stored  in  such  safe  and  Convenient  Rooms,  Warehouses, 
or  Cellars,  Yards  or  Docks  respectively ;  for  preventing 
damage  of  Weather,  Robbery,  Imbezlement,  Fire,  Water, 
or  Vermin  of  any  kind  whereby  they  may  be  impaired,  and 
be  under  such  custody  and  continual  care,  as  will  probably 
render  them  more  safe  than  in  any  Persons  particular 
Custody,  or  Ware-house. 

11.  Item ,  That  the  Charge  of  Warehouse-room  [13]  be 
reasonable,  with  respect  to  the  bulkiness  or  value  of  the 
Deposit ;  and  be  agreed  upon  between  the  Parties  to,  and  in¬ 
serted  in,  each  Contract.  In  which  respect  it  will  be  easier 
to  many  than  to  hire  Warehouses  of  their  own. 

12.  Item ,  That  all  persons  having  any  Deposits  in  Bank- 
warehouses,  &c .  may  have  liberty,  at  seasonable  hours,  and 
in  the  presence  of  known  persons,  to  be  intrusted  for  that 
purpose,  to  view  their  Goods,  that  they  be  not  imbezled,  or 
dampnified,  and  to  provide  against  the  same :  Also  to  show 
thep  to  their  Chapmen ;  and  shall  be  assisted  therein  by 
the  Romagers  or  Porters  imployed  by  the  Partnership. 

13.  Item ,  That  in  case  the  Creditors  of  this  Bank  shall 
agree  to  desire,  and  accordingly  Declare  in  Writing,  That 


Reprint  1 6  5 

there  be  a  Determination  put  thereto :  Or  if  on  any  other 
account  whatsoever,  the  Determination  thereof  shall  be 
judged  necessary,  by  the  Proposers  and  Managers  of  this 
Bank,  and  so  declard  in  Writing  (which  cannot  be  without 
allowance  and  ascertaining  of  a  reasonable  time  betwixt  the 
said  Creditors  and  Partnership  for  closing  up  the  same,  and 
the  Acompts  thereof,  so  as  may  be  without  damage  to  any 
or  either  of  them,)  That,  as  no  person  is  or  shall  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  accept  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  unless  he  shall  volun¬ 
tarily  agree  so  to  do,  and  for  no  longer  time,  nor  otherwise 
than  he  shall  so  consent.  So,  no  man  paying  his  prcemium 
and  charges  aforesaid,  for  the  Credit  he  hath,  shall  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  Redeem  his  Pledge,  being  of  Personal  Estate 
sooner  than  the  time  contracted  for,  and  the  na-[l4]ture  of 
the  Deposit  shall  require:  And  to  the  End  the  Mortgager  of 
Lands,  of  unquestionable  good  title  may  not  be  distressed,  to 
his  undoing,  in  case  he  should,  by  reason  of  such  Declara¬ 
tion,  be  suddainly  call’d  upon  to  Redeem  the  same,  (which 
may  be  impossible  for  him  to  do  in  some  years,  through  the 
scarcity  of  Moneys)  That  all  &  every  Mortgager  of  Lands 
in  such  case,  shall  or  may  have  and  take  six  years  time, 
from  and  after  such  Declaration  aforesaid,  to  be  allowed 
unto  him,  his  Heirs  and  Assigns,  for  Redemption  of  his 
Lands ;  He  or  they  paying  after  the  rate  of  six  pounds  per 
cent,  per  Annum,  ih  ready  Moneys,  at  the  end  of  every  six 
Months,  for  the  continuance  of  the  Credit  he  had  thereupon, 
from  such  time  as  the  said  Declaration  shall  be  perfected, 
until  he  shall  redeem  the  same  :  and  that  the  Partners  of 
this  Bank  shall  or  may  have  and  take  one  full  years  time 
more,  from  the  Expiration  of  the  said  six  years,  to  be 
allowed  unto  them,  for  selling  the  said  Lands,  or  such  of 


1 66  Colonial  Currency 

them  as  shall  not,  within  the  said  six  years  be  redeemed ; 
whereby  they  may  be  inabled  to  receive,  In,  and  Exchange 
all  Bank  bills  then  granted  forth,  into  the  now  current  Coyn 
or  Moneys  of  this  Country,  or  other  moneys  being  not  of 
more  intrinsique  value  than  what  now  passes :  Or,  otherwise 
satisfie  for  the  same  by  such  proportions  of  the  said  remain¬ 
ing  Lands  or  other  Effects,,  as  shall  be  judged  to  be  of  equal 
value :  Or  by  assigning  or  transferring  to  such  Creditors  the 
then  Remaining  Lands  or  other  effects,  at  the  same  Rates 
or  Values  for  which  they  were  respectively  Mortgaged  or 
deposited.  And  in  the  mean  time  paying  to  all  Creditors  who 
shall  then  have  any  [15]  Bills  in  their  Hands,  after  the  same 
rate  of  Interest,  for  so  long  time,  after  publishing  the  said 
Declaration,  as  the  said  Bills  shall  remain  in  the  said  Creditors 
hands,  unoccupied;  with  Deduction  and  allowance  only  of 
the  Prczmium  contracted  for,  as  aforesaid ;  and  that  such 
Bank-bills,  as  before  such  Declaration  made,  have  been  given 
forth,  upon  the  real  or  personal  Securities  aforementioned 
which  remain  in  the  Possession  of  the  said  Bank,  may  and 
shall  be  esteemed,  and  pass  as  Currant  Moneys,  of  the  value 
of  the  present  Coyn,  in  all  Receipts  and  Payments  whatso¬ 
ever,  during  the  said  Term. 

14.  Item ,  That  the  foregoing  Rules  be  attended  and 
observed  by  all  and  singular  Persons  concerned  therein,  and 
who  shall  propose  to  deal  with,  and  accept  the  Bills  of 
Credit  issued  by  the  Managers  of  the  said  Bank  of  Credit, 
Lumbard  and  Exchange  of  Moneys  proposed  to  be  erected 
in  any  place,  and  managed  by  Persons  in  Partnership,  as 
other  Merchantly  affairs. 


Reprint 


167 


Of  the  fifth  Particular ,  viz.  The  Particular  Advantages  of 
such  Persons  as  shall  voluntarily  deal  with  the  said  Part¬ 
ners  in  these  affairs  ;  which  will  appear  in  several  Instances . 


First  Instance. 


A  COUNTRY  Chapman  hath  Lands,  suppose  worth 
to  be  sold  for  400  1.  and  being  willing  to  inlarge 
his  Trade  and  Dealings,  or  make  improvement  on  his  Lands, 
as  far  as  his  Estate  will  inable  him;  Or,  having  bought 
Goods,  which  he  is  indebted,  and  [16]  cannot  otherwise  pay 
for,  he  mortgages  his  Land  to  the  Partnership  for  200 1. 
more  or  less ;  and  thereupon  receives  several  Bank-bills  of 
Credit,  for  200  /.  &c.  of  several  values  from  twenty  shillings, 
and  so  upwards,  to  answer  his  occasions. 

With  these  he  buyes  such  Goods  as  he  pleases,  or  payes 
his  Debts  for  what  he  formerly  bought  of  the  Wholesale 
Shop-keeper,  or  Warehouse-keeper,  in  such  Town  or  Towns 
of  Trade  as  shall  fall  into  this  way  of  Dealing;  and,  having 
Bank-bills  to  deliver  for  them,  which  are  of  better  value  by 
40  s.  in  the  100  /.  than  Moneys,  with  this  Society,  as  is 
herein  evinced :  he  buyes  much  Cheaper  than  he  could  upon 
his  own  Credit,  or  with  Moneys  in  specie. 

The  Shop-keeper  goes  to  the  Merchant,  who  thus  agrees, 
and  buyes  of  him  other  Goods,  with  the  same  or  other  like 
Bills ;  wherein  he  reaps  the  same  advantage  as  he  gave  his 
Chapman. 

The  Merchant  buyes  Corn,  Beef,  Pork,  Fish,  Hops,  Lum¬ 
ber,  Pitch,  Tarr,  Rozin,  Skins,  Furs,  or  any  other  of  the 
Countreys  Products  or  Manufactures,  of  the  Husbandman, 
Grazier,  Artificer,  or  maker  thereof. 


1 68  Colonial  Currency 

The  Husbandman,  &c .  If  a  Farmer  of  Lands,  payes  his 
Rent,  and  purchases  more  young  Cattel  of  his  Neighbour, 
for  Breed  or  Fatting,  Or, 

If  an  Owner  of  Land,  and  hath  not  sufficient  stock  to  im¬ 
prove  it,  he  also  Mortgages  his  Land,  and  has  Credit  to 
furnish  himself.  Or, 

If  he  hath  sufficient  Stock,  and  perhaps  more  than  his 
present  Farm  can  maintain,  he  hath  his  Eye  upon  a  neigh¬ 
bouring  Farm,  or  piece  of  Land  [17]  that  would  be  sold ;  he 
Mortgages  his  own  Land  in  the  Bank,  and  hath  Credit  to  buy 
the  other. 

If  then  he  want  Stock,  he  may  also  Mortgage  the  Farm 
or  piece  of  Land  last  purchased ;  and  have  Credit  to  inable 
him  fully  to  improve  and  stock  both :  Whereby  he  doubles 
his  yearly  advantages,  and  if  he  can  then  content  himself  to 
live  as  frugally,  and  be  as  industrious  as  before,  he  may  soon 
compass  to  pay  off  his  Debt,  and  redeem  his  Land.  Or,  he 
may  continue  the  Credit  he  had,  and  take  out  more  upon  the 
Additional  improvement;  and  thus  increase  his  purchases 
and  Estate,  as  long  as  such  an  help  is  afforded. 

Second  Instance . 

The  like  may  be  done  for  carrying  on  the  opening  and 
working  in  any  Mines,  Minerals  or  Quarreys  of  Stone,  Lead, 
Tin,  Iron,  Copper,  &c.  thus  viz.  The  Mine  and  Lands 
wherein  the  same  is,  may  be  Mortgaged  as  aforesaid,  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  Owner  thereof  with  Bills  of  Credit,  for  paying  his 
Workmen,  in  any  summ  of  Twenty  Shillings,  or  above. 

As  fast  as  any  of  these  Metals,  &c.  are  wrought  fit  for 
Sale,  if  a  Chapman  be  wanting,  the  Metal  may  be  brought 
into  the  Bank,  and  the  Owner  Receive  Bank-bills  to  the 


Reprint  169 

value  of  about  two  thirds  thereof,  as  aforesaid,  to  enable  him 
to  proceed  on  his  Works:  And  the  Metal  lying  in  Bank  is 
there  readier  for  a  Market  than  elsewhere,  in  his  own  Private 
House  or  Ware-house,  at  very  reasonable  rates  for  lying  there, 
and  may  with  allowance  of  the  owner,  be  sold  in  his  absence, 
by  the  Merchant-Broker  before  mentioned,  at  such  current 
Rates  [18]  as  he  shall  set,  and  he  become  Creditor  for  so 
much,  to  be  discompted  or  paid  him,  whensoever  he  shall 
call  for  it. 


Third  Instance . 

A  Weaver  of  Cloth,  Serge,  or  Linnen,  &c.  is  imployed  in 
any  Work-house  erected  or  to  be  erected,  to  carry  on  those 
respective  Manufactures:  Also  other  Manufacturers,  and 
Artificers,  in  Rope-making,  Cables,  Rigging,  Sails,  Anchors, 
or  any  other  materials  for  the  Fishing  trade,  Merchants,  or 
building  of  Ships,  &c. 

The  Owner  of  such  Work-house,  or  materials  respectly, 
consents  to  Mortgage  the  same,  for  one  or  two  hundred 
pounds,  more  or  less,  in  Bank-bills,  as  the  work  shall  require, 
and  the  value  of  the  house  or  materials  will  admit. 

With  these  Bills,  the  Work-master  or  Overseer,  buyes 
Wooll,  Worsted,  Yarn,  Hemp,  Flax,  Dying-stuffs,  Iron,  Tim¬ 
ber,  Lumber,  &c .  of  the  Merchant,  Ware-house-keeper, 
Countrey-man,  or  other  Seller;  and  finishes  40,  60,  or  100, 
peices,  &c.  more  or  less  of  any  of  the  said  Commodities; 
which  when  wrought  up  for  a  Market ;  if  he  want  a  Chap¬ 
man,  he  brings  into  the  Bank  Ware-houses,  as  aforesaid;  or 
such  Yards,  Docks,  or  other  places  as  they  shall  appoint  or 
agree :  Takes  up  new  Credit  upon  them,  and  leaves  them 
there  to  be  sold,  at  his  own  rates,  as  aforesaid.  Or, 


1 70  Colonial  Currency 

A  considerable  parcel  of  Wooll,  Cotten,  Yarn,  Flax,  Hemp, 
Oyl,  Dying-stuffs,  or  other  Goods  for  his  use,  and  offer’d  to 
Sale ;  he  may  pay  one  third  thereof  by  his  wrought  up  Goods 
unsold,  and  bringing  these  Commodities  into  the  Bank,  [19] 
may  receive  Bills  of  Credit  for  paying  the  other  two  thirds ; 
which  he  may  take  out,  in  parcels,  as  he  brings  in  any  new 
wrought  up  Goods,  or  hath  occasion  to  use  them  for  working 
up  more ;  and  the  Bank- ware-houses  will  be  to  him  as  Black- 
well-Hall \  &c.  in  London  to  the  Clothiers,  to  assist  his  sale 
of  them,  without  his  trouble  :  For  thither  will  all  Merchants 
have  incouragement  to  come,  to  seek  supplies  for  Transpor¬ 
tation,  and  find  Goods  always  ready. 

Other  Instances  might  be  multiplied,  but  by  these  it 
appears, 

1.  That  the  Manufacturer,  &c.  loses  no  time  in  looking 
out  a  Chapman. 

2.  Is  always  furnish’d  with  Credit  to  buy  his  Materials  at 
the  best  hand. 

3.  The  Merchant  never  trusts,  nor  Ware-house  keeper; 
Or,  if  he  do,  the  plenty  of  Bills  expedits  his  Chapmans  Sale, 
and  consequently  his  payments.  Whereby, 

4.  He  has  incouragement  and  stock  presently  to  look  out 
for  more  of  the  same,  or  other  useful  Merchandizes. 

5.  Sends  forth  the  said  Metals,  Clothes,  Stuffs,  Linnen, 
&c .  amongst  other  Merchandizes  of  the  Product  of  his 
Countrey,  or  imported. 

6.  Makes  return  of  Bullion  Moneys,  or  other  useful 
Goods,  which  are  presently  bought  off  with  Bank  bills. 
Or, 

7.  He  may  store  them  up  in  Bank  Ware-houses,  and  re¬ 
ceive  present  Credit,  wherewith  to  send  out  again.  And, 


1 7 1 


Reprint 

8.  Thereby  be  inabled  (at  least)  to  double,  or  [20]  treble  his 
yearly  dealings,  and  receive  proportionable  advantages.  This, 

1.  Increases  and  quickens  Merchandizing  and  trade. 

2.  Promotes  Shipping  and  Navigation.  Which, 

3.  Increases  the  Publique  Duties,  and  consequently  the 
Revenues. 

4.  Imploys  the  Poor  in  the  mynings  and  manufactures 
’forementioned. 

5.  They  get  Moneys  by  these  Imployments. 

6.  That  enables  them  to  buy  up  all  necessaries  for  Cloath- 
ing,  Victuals,  paying  of  Debts,  &c. 

7.  This  helps  the  Consumption  of,  as  well  their  own  Com¬ 
modities,  as  other  imported  goods  and  Merchandizes:  for 
no  Man,  that  hath  wherewith  to  buy;  will  go  naked  or  be 
hungry,  &c . 

8.  This  helps  to  civilize  the  Ruder  sort  of  People  ;  and 
incourages  others  to  follow  their  Example  in  Industry  and 
Civility. 

9.  Thus  all  sorts  of  Persons  become  inabled  to  live  hand- 
somly;  and  out  of  Debt;  and  that  prevents  multiplicity  of 
Law  Suits,  and  troubles  to  the  Government :  but  none  of 
these  advantages  may  be  expected,  out  of  the  small  Pittance 
of  Cash,  that  now  is,  ever  was,  or  likely  will  be  in  any  Coun¬ 
trey,  unless  assisted  in  Trade,  and  inriched  by  the  help  this 
Bank  proposes.  And  so  we  pass  to  the  Consideration 

Of  the  sixth  Particular ,  viz.  The  answering  some  few  of  the 

most  material  Pertinent  Queries ,  and  Objections  touching 

this  Bank ,  viz. 

Q.  1.  Can  I  have  Moneys  for  Bank-bills,  when  I  have 
occasion  ? 


172 


Colonial  Currency 

[21]  Answ.  1.  ’T  is  not  propounded,  to  be  a  Bank  of 
Moneys  (which  is  liable  to  inexpressible  and  unforeseen 
hazards),  but  of  Credit  to  be  given  forth  by  Bills;  not  on 
Moneys  advanced,  as  in  other  Banks,  but  (on  Lands  or 
Goods,  as  aforesaid),  to  supply  such  as  cannot  get  Moneys 
(by  reason  of  its  scarcity)  with  whatsoever  may  be  had  for 
Moneys.  Yet, 

Answ.  2.  As  often  as  any  Persons  redeem  their  Lands 
or  Goods,  they  must  do  it  in  Bank-bills,  or  with  Moneys.  If 
in  ready  Moneys,  the  Partnership  may  exchange  Bills  there¬ 
with,  to  such  as  desire  it;  and  is  afore  provided  by  the 
Rules. 

Answ.  3.  However,  this  Bank  is  no  occasion  of  streight- 
ning  men  that  would  have  Moneys ;  but  leaves  them  free ; 
and  in  this  case,  the  Merchant-brokers  of  the  Bank  will  be 
'  helpful,  between  those  who  have  and  who  want  Moneys,  and 
Bills  respectively ;  as  is  likewise  aforementioned  in  the  said 
Rules.  But, 

Answ.  4.  If  it  be  made  appear  to  you,  that  others  who 
have  Moneys,  will  be  willing  to  change  your  Bank-bills  into 
those  species  of  Gold  and  Silver,  and  thank  you  for  offering 
them  the  occasion  (though  the  Bank  Partnership  do  it  not) 
you’l  have  no  cause  to  decline  the  other  advantages  Pro¬ 
posed:  Especially  if  you  may  both  be  gainers  by  the  Ex¬ 
change.  Now,  if  I  ow’d  you  500.  1.  to  be  paid  in  Silver, 
which  I  could  not  do,  but  should  propose  to  pay  you  in 
Gold,  at  the  intrinsique  coyn’d  value,  which  if  you  part  with 
again  will  yield  you  five  pound  profit,  or  more :  Would  you 
then  refuse  Gold  ? 

[22]  Obj.  But  how  will  you  apply  this,  to  make  it 
Credible  ? 


173 


Reprint 

Sol \  Thus,  Whoever  hath  any  payment  to  make  in  Bank, 
which  (in  probability  if  such  Bank  take  effect  in  any  Coun¬ 
trey)  will  be  every  Man  that  deals  in  above  twenty  Shillings 
at  a  time)  will  find,  that  we  must  pay  forty  Shillings  more, 
in  every  hundred  pounds  of  ready  Money,  than  in  Bank-bills 
of  Credit ;  (as  per  the  forementioned  Rules  of  the  Bank) 
which  is  about  five  pence  benefit  to  the  Exchanger,  in  every 
20.  s.  No  doubt  then  of  having  Moneys  (by  a  little  inquiry 
of  the  Merchant-Broker)  at  the  value  contained  in  the  Bills, 
of  all  such  as  must  redeem  their  Mortgages,  and  Deposits. 
But, 

Bills,  wherever  Banks  have  been  erected  (though  Money 
Banks)  have  always  been  of  better  value  than  Moneys  in 
specie.  Whereof  three  Reasons  may  be  given. 

(i.)  For  the  ease  of  Compting  and  Carriage;  and  pre¬ 
venting  damage  to  the  Receiver,  by  Counterfeit,  Clip’d,  Light 
or  base  Coyn  :  (Which  is  obvious  to  all.) 

(2.)  For  safety  in  Travelling,  laying  up,  &c.  As  visible 
as  the  other. 

(3.)  For  the  advantage  that  is  to  be  made  by  the  Ex¬ 
change,  on  the  account  of  such  Conveniences.  Whereof 
take  two  Examples,  viz . 

(1.)  The  Bank-bills  of  Holland  are  ordinarily  better  than 
Moneys,  by  at  least  three  pounds  per  Cent.  And, 

(2.)  Those  in  Venice ,  by  twenty  pounds  per  Cent,  and 
Laws  made  there  to  keep  them  from  ri-[23]sing  higher;  for 
they  were  once  at  28. 1.  per  Cent,  and  not  without  some  diffi¬ 
culty  Reduced  to  twenty ;  so  that  each  Bill  of  100.  1.  is  now 
Current  at  1 20.  /. 

Obj.  But  how  is  that  possible  or  Credible  ? 

Sol.  There  is  this  account  rendred  of  it  (which  has  con- 


1 74  Colonial  Currency 

firmation  by  many  other  Instances  that  might  be  given, 
concerning  the  Current  Prices  of  many  Commodities,  which 
have  not  so  much  of  Intrinsique  value  in  them,)  viz .  The 
State  of  Venice  propounded  the  Erecting  a  Bank  to  consist 
of  two  Millions  of  Duckets:  Accordingly  Moneys  were 
brought  in,  Bills  given  out  for  the  same  value ;  and  a  stop 
put  to  the  receiving,  or  giving  out  any  more  of  either. 

The  usefulness  of  these  Bills  was  suddainly  found  to  be 
such  in  the  practice  and  imployment  of  them,  upon  the  three 
forementioned  Accounts,  that  every  Man,  at  one  time  or 
other,  found  his  affairs  required  them ;  So,  that  at  first,  such 
Bills  would  not  be  parted  with  for  Money,  under  ten  Shil¬ 
lings  per  hundred  pounds ;  and  no  sooner  was  that  become 
the  Current  rate,  but  they  were  successively  raised,  by  ten 
Shillings  at  a  time,  till  they  came  to  be,  in  every  one’s  Esti¬ 
mation,  2 8./.  per  Cent .  better  than  moneys  in  specie ;  and 
so  past  accordingly.  Whereupon, 

The  State  of  Venice  enacted  several  Laws  against  their 
passing  so  high:  which  failing  to  accomplish  what  was  re¬ 
quired,  at  length  they  conceived  it  necessary,  in  order  to  the 
bringing  down  the  price,  to  propose  the  giving  forth  Bills 
for  three  hundred  thousand  Duckets  more :  By  which  means 
they  [24]  brought  it  back  to  twenty  pounds  per  Cent,  (which 
pleased  the  People)  and  there  fixt  it,  as  to  it’s  rising  higher 
afterwards,  by  a  severe  Law;  since  when,  it  stands  so  to 
this  day :  And  this  is  no  more  than  what  is  familiar  in  the 
price  of  other  things,  viz.  Diamonds,  Rubies,  Pearles,  Horses, 
Pictures,  &c.  which  have  their  Estimation  from  the  various 
Pleasures  and  Fancies  of  men,  &c. 

And,  if  it  be  demanded,  what  induced  that  State  to  allow 
it  so  high  ? 


i75 


Reprint 

The  Answer  is  easie,  viz.  The  State  of  Venice  had  made 
use  of  the  Moneys  deposited,  in  their  publick  occasions 
(where  observe  the  hazard  of  a  Money  Bank)  and,  having 
Promised,  for  satisfaction  of  Creditors,  to  raise  the  like 
summ,  if  they  should  have  occasion  for  it,  reap  this  advan¬ 
tage,  of  their  Peoples  high  opinion  of  Bills,  that,  they  are 
thereby  assured,  that,  never,  will  any  Creditor  come  to  ask 
them  ioo  l.  for  a  Bill  of  ioo  /.  when  he  may  have  120/. 
from  any  other  hand.  A  notable  way  to  pay  a  vast  debt. 
But,  by  means  hereof,  the  Creditor  has  no  other  Fund  or 
Security  but  the  States  Word:  For,  there  is  not  one  Ducket 
for  them  in  Bank. 

Q .  2.  My  Lands  or  Goods  are  already  Mortgaged  for 
Moneys,  at  a  higher  Rate  of  Interest ;  and  the  Mortgagee 
will  not  take  Bills.  Can  such  a  Bank  help  me  ? 

Ans .  There  may  be  Persons,  of  whom  you  may  be  in¬ 
formed  at  the  Bank,  who  will  advise  and  assist  you  therein : 
If  there  be  Moneys  in  the  Countrey  to  be  had. 

Q.  3.  I  have  neither  Lands  nor  Goods  but  a  [25]  Trade,  by 
which  I  could  live  comfortably  if  I  had  a  small  Stock ;  and 
I  could  afford  to  give  a  greater  Interest,  and  have  Friends 
that  would  help  me  too,  upon  my  own  bond :  But  they  have 
not  Moneys.  Which  way  shall  I  be  help’d  ? 

Ans .  If  your  Friends  have  Lands  or  Goods,  they  may 
have  these  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  at  four  Pounds  per  Cent . 
per  Annum,  to  lend  you  at  such  Rates  as  you  can  agree: 
Whereby  they  also  may  be  gainers,  and  have  incouragement 
to  help  you. 

Much  more  might  be  said  upon  this  Subject,  but  these 
seem  to  be  sufficient,  for  incouraging  an  attempt:  And,  the 
experiments  of  the  things  suggested  will  give  such  clear 


176  Colonial  Currency 

Demonstrations  of  the  Usefulness,  advantage,  necessity  and 
security  of  such  Banks,  in  most  places,  beyond  all  others 
that  have  been  hitherto  put  in  Practice,  as  those  who  are 
not  so  prompt  to  receive  things  into  their  understandings 
by  the  Notions  of  them,  or  are  prejudiced  by  mistaken  ap¬ 
prehensions  about  them,  apd,  thence  raise  many  impertinent 
Objections  (not  worth  scribling)  may  be  presumed  will  fol¬ 
low  other  Examples,  in  wel-doing,  when  those  are  observed 
to  thrive  who  go  before  therein. 


We  shall  therefore ,  for  the  Conclusion ,  which  is  the  last  Par¬ 
ticular  mentioned ,  to  be  Discoursed,  summ  up  all ,  in  this 
General  A ssertion ,  viz. 

THAT  there  will  arise  many  more  Conveniences  and 
advantages,  by  this  Bank,  to  such  Countreys  where 
they  shall  be  erected,  than  have  been  enumerated,  in  the 
several  foregoing  instances ;  or,  well,  can  be. 

[26]  1.  By  this,  the  Trade  and  Wealth  of  any  Countrey 
is  establish’d  upon  it’s  own  Foundation  ;  and  upon  a  Medium 
or  Ballance  arising  within  it  self,  viz .  The  Lands  and  Prod¬ 
ucts  of  such  Countrey,  and  not  upon  the  Importation  of 
Gold  or  Silver;  or  the  Scarcity  or  Plenty  of  them,  or,  of 
any  thing  else  imported  from  Forreign  Nations,  which  may 
be  withheld,  prohibited,  or  enhansed,  at  the  Pleasure  of 
others. 

2.  The  Native  Commodities  of  such  Countreys  will  thus 
become  improved  to  a  sufficiency  (at  least)  for  their  own 
Use;  and  thereby  afford  a  comfortable  subsistence  to  many 
ingenious  and  industrious  Persons,  in  such  Countreys,  who 


Reprint  177 

know  not  how  to  subsist:  Especially  such  as  are  Banish’d, 
or  inforced  to  forsake  their  Native  Countreys,  by  reason  of 
the  heat  of  Persecution,  upon  the  account  of  Religion. 

3.  It  will  not  be  in  the  power  of  any,  by  Extortion  and 
Oppression,  to  make  a  Prey  of  the  Necessitous. 

4.  The  Fishery  of  such  Countrey,  as  lye  convenient  for 
it,  may  be  improved;  and  the  Navigation  and  Shipping 
increased,  for  Use  or  Sale. 

5.  The  Publick  Revenues  thereof,  in  consequence  of 
these,  will  be  augmented. 

6.  The  Rents  of  Lands,  yea,  the  purchase  value  thereof, 
will  rife ;  For,  the  Plenty  of  Money,  or  a  valuable  Credit 
equivalent  thereunto  and  the  Lowering  of  Interest,  must 
necessarily  have  that  effect. 

7.  It  will  supply  the  defect  or  scarcity  of  Moneys  in  specie 
until  by  the  setling  of  Manufactures,  &c .  (which  this  Bank 
proposes)  the  Products  of  such  Countrey  for  Exportation 
shall  come  to  Ballance  or  exceed  the  value  of  it’s  Importa¬ 
tions  ;  [27]  which  afterwards  will  necessitate  the  bringing  in 
of  Moneys,  as  fast  as  the  want  thereof  hath  carryed  it  away. 
For,  the  true  Ground  of  the  Plenty  or  Scarcity  of  Moneys 
in  any  Countrey,  is  not  the  high  or  low  value  of  the  Money 
(as  some  erroneously  conceive)  but,  that  the  value  of  goods 
imported  from  other  parts  hath  been  greater  than  that  of 
the  Export.  The  ballance  whereof  must  necessarily  be 
answer’d  with  Moneys,  and  for  the  same  Reason,  Revers’d, 
the  Export  of  goods  when  brought  to  exceed  the  value  of 
the  Import,  must,  as  necessarily  bring  it  back  again  to  such 
proportion  as  the  Export  can  be  raised.  And  whatsoever 
other  means  may  be  suggested  for  furnishing  of  Moneys 
must  be  fruitless,  for,  there  will  abide  no  more  than  such 

VOL.  I  —  12 


1 78  Colonial  Currency 

proportion  ;  let  what  value  will  be  put  on  Moneys  above  the 
currant  price  thereof  in  other  Countreys  with  whom  they 
shall  Trade;  which  may  be  further  evidenced,  if  this  hint 
thereof  be  not  sufficiently  intelligible.  To  which  may  be 
added,  That  the  less  need  there  is  of  Moneys  in  Specie,  by 
reason  of  such  Currant  Credit,  the  more  will  be  the  increase 
of  Money  it  self;  as  is  manifest  in  Holland,  Venice ,  and 
all  places  where  Bank-Credit  supplies  the  Defect  of  those 
species ;  at  least,  the  Money  that  remains  in  such  Countreys, 
will  be  at  greater  liberty  for  such  petty  occasions  as  cannot 
be  so  well  accommodated  by  Bills. 

In  order,  therefore,  and  as  Praevious  to  the  entring  upon 
such  an  affair,  ’  tis  requisite  that  other  Queries  be  pro¬ 
pounded  and  resolved,  viz . 

Q.  4.  How  shall  it  come  to  be  known  whether  a  sufficient 
number  of  Persons,  of  all  Ranks,  Trades  [28]  and  Callings, 
will  deal  with  this  Bank  ?  The  Reasons  of  which  Inquiry 
are  these,  viz. 

(1.)  It  will  be  of  use  to  the  undertakers  of  such  Bank  to 
know  it,  for  their  incouragement  in  their  entrance  upon  this 
affair.  And, 

(2.)  In  such  others  as  would  take  the  Bills,  if  they  were 
satisfied  they  could  buy  such  Goods,  &c.  as  they  want,  with 
Bills,  at  as  easie  rates,  as  if  they  had  ready  Moneys  to  give. 

Answ.  1.  It  will  be  requisite,  that  a  short  Declaration  be 
tendred  to  be  subscribed  by  some  Persons  of  all  Ranks, 
Trades,  and  Callings  ;  signifying  that  they  will  accept  the 
said  Bank-Bills  of  Credit,  in  their  ordinary  future  dealings 
of  buying  and  selling,  or  other  traffiquing  affairs,  whereupon 
they  are  to  receive  Moneys,  for  so  much  ready  Moneys  as 
shall  be  in  such  Bills  mentioned,  upon  the  terms  and  accord- 


Reprint  1 79 

in g  to  the  Rules  of  the  Bank:  Saving  to  every  Man  his 
specialties,  and  particular  Contracts. 

A  ns.  2.  That  such  as  shall  so  declare  themselves,  by 
Subscription  (or  otherwise)  may  be  put  into  Alphabetical 
Lists ;  and,  such  as  take  forth  Bills  may  be  informed  of  the 
Names  of  the  said  respective  Persons,  their  Trades  or  Call¬ 
ings,  and  Places  of  Habitation.  But, 

Q.  5.  It  may  be  further  inquired,  viz.  What  if  some 
sorts  of  persons  requisite  for  a  universal  Circulation  of  Bills, 
will  not,  in  all  cases,  ingage  to  accept  Bank-bills :  but  some 
will  wholly  Refuse  them,  and  cry  up  moneys,  inhans’d  to  a 
higher  Rate  than  they  pass  at  in  other  Countreys,  &c. 
Others  will  be  for  either,  or  both,  as  they  find  it  for  their 
advantage,  &c . 

[29]  Ans.  It ’s  not  necessary  that  all  should,  in  all  cases, 
oblige  themselves  to  Bills  as  long  as  there  is  moneys  to  be 
had :  But  if  there  be  not  a  sufficiency  of  that  for  carrying 
on  of  Trade,  &c .  as,  this  Bank  hinders  not  the  Currency  of 
moneys,  but  that  may  be  imployed  as  far  as  it  will  go,  ( which, 
for  the  most  part,  during  the  scarcity  of  it,  will  be  in  small 
dealings, )  so,  the  Bills  will  be  found  usefull  to  supply  the  de¬ 
fect.  The  needful  proportion  whereof  will  soon  be  under¬ 
stood  ;  and  each  Person  will  cast  his  business,  and  make  his 
contracts  accordingly:  And  consequently,  this  need  not 
hinder,  or  discourage  the  attempt ;  if  there  be  a  competent 
number  of  each,  or  most  sorts,  that  cannot,  otherwise,  deal 
as  they  would. 

Q.  6.  And,  if  any  shall  inquire,  What  number  of  Mer¬ 
chants  and  other  Tradesmen  may  be  sufficient  (at  first  erect¬ 
ing  such  a  Bank)  to  assist  a  Circulation  of  Bills  in  Trade,  in 
case  some  should,  not  only  withdraw  from,  but,  obstruct, 


1 80  Colonial  Currency 

and  misrepresent  the  Affair,  or  persons  managing  it,  as  not 
having  the  publick  approbation,  or  Sanction  of  the  Authority 
of  a  Countrey  which  they  may  suggest  to  be  necessary  ?  It ’s 
answered, 

Ans.  i.  A  few  Merchants  in  any  Countrey  who  are  General 
Traders  (by  the  help  this  Bank  proposes,  in  the  foregoing 
Instances,)  may  be  sufficient  to  give  encourgement  for  the 
Entrance  upon  this  Affair ;  and  so  many  Shop-keepers  Artifi¬ 
cers,  &c.  as  must  and  will  deal  with  them.  For, 

Ans.  2.  It  may  reasonably  be  presumed,  that,  many,  in  the 
practice  of  the  thing,  will  appre-[30]hend  the  necessity,  use¬ 
fulness,  and  security,  thereof,  who  cannot  easily  take  it  up  in 
the  Notion  ;  or  by  discourse  ;  and  that  such  will  come  in  by 
Degrees :  for,  if,  (being  Merchants)  they  stand  out,  such  of 
their  Chapmen  as  shall  find  it  their  interest  to  sell  for  Bills, 
must  buy  again  of  others  who  will  take  them  in  payment; 
and  finding  themselves  well  used  by  such,  will  hardly  return 
where  they  have  been  refused :  and,  if  of  other  Professions, 
they  must  either  sell  little,  or  do  it  on  Trust,  or  wait  for  pay¬ 
ment  till  moneys  grow  more  plentifull ;  whilest  others  carry 
away  the  whole  trading  amongst  them. 

Ans.  3.  This  part  of  the  Merchants  Calling,  is,  in  every 
respect,  as  Free  and  lawfull,  for  any  to  undertake,  and  needs 
no  more  of  publick  encouragement  or  Countenance,  than 
that  part  of  buying  and  selling  (at  home  or  abroad)  with  or 
for  ready  money,  time,  or  Barter,  which  they  better  under¬ 
stand  and  practise.  And  the  managers  hereof  may  as  well 
expect  a  benefit  by  it  as  the  others :  Forasmuch  as  it  will  no 
less  take  up  their  time  to  attend ;  and  will  be  an  improving 
the  trade  of  any  Countrey,  no  less  than  the  other:  And  lastly, 
has  its  hazards  attending  it ;  for  the  profits  accruing  thereby, 


1 8 1 


Reprint 

are,  in  the  first  place  assigned,  by  the  Constitution  and  Rules 
thereof,  for  making  good  all  losses  and  damages  that  may 
happen,  in  the  management  of  this  Affair. 

De  te  Narratur ,  N.  A. 

FINIS 


[31]  A  Supplement  or  Appendix  to  the  Treatise  Entituled , 

A  MODEL  for  Erecting  a  Bank  of  Credit,  &c,  Or,  An  ac¬ 
count  of  some  of  the  many  Prejudices  that  will  Inevitably  en¬ 
sue,  as  well  to  His  Majesty  as  to  his  Subjects  by  enhansing  the 
value  of  Spanish  Coyns  &c.  above  his  Majesties .  Together 
with  the  most  probable  means  for  Preventing  thereof,  without 
damage  to  any.  viz. 

Prejudice,  ist.  To  the  KING ;  and  that  in  a  double  respect 

First,  In  point  of  Honour  and  Royal  Dignity,  viz. 

1 .  That  the  Stamp  or  Coyn  of  any  Prince  should  be  preferred 
to  his  Majesties ,  Especially  by  his  own  Subjects ,  it  being  so  sacred 
a  Badge  of  Royalty  and  Dominion. 

2.  That  any  part  of  his  Dominions  should ,  by  so  doing  be 
proclaim'd  to  be  reduced  to  such  indigence ,  in  Scandal  of 
Government. 

Secondly,  In  point  of  Profit,  viz. 


i82 


Colonial  Currency 


[32]  HTHAT  any  European  Princes  should  so  far  divide 
A  or  Share  with  his  Majesty  in  the  Royalty  and 
Profit  of  Coynage ;  and  be  thereby  invited,  not  only  to  put 
off  their  Moneys  to  so  great  enriching  themselves,  and  im¬ 
poverishing  his  Majesties  Subjects  :  But  to  raise  the  value 
of  their  moneys  upon  all  other  Princes:  To  the  confusion 
of  trade,  by  altering  the  agreed  or  used  measure  or  standard 
amongst  them. 

2.  That  by  such  a  course  (Especially  at  such  a  time  as 
this,  wherein  his  Majestie  is  setling  and  Establishing  his 
Revenue)  the  whole  should  be  Regulated  by  a  Temporary 
advance  (for  a  present  turn),  which,  when  Reduced  to  his 
Majesties  Standard  (as  no  doubt  it  will  soon  be  judged  fit 
to  have  it  so)  will  be  Detrimentall  to  his  Majestie  in  all 
future  times. 

Prejudice .  2d.  To  his  Majesties  Subjects .  viz. 

1.  To  such  as  have  contracted  for  money,  current  at  the 
time  of  the  Contract,  and  by  this  means  shall  come  to  be 
paid  in  other  moneys  really  less  in  value  ;  which  carrys  great 
injustice  in  it;  whether  such  contracts  be  for  goods  or  Mer¬ 
chandizes,  ancient  Rights  and  Rents  on  Leases,  Annuities 
or  Perpetuities.  &c. 

2.  To  such  as  live  upon  Pensions,  Salaries,  Wages ;  Civill, 
Military  or  Ecclesiasticall,  Establish’d  by  Law  or  other  wise. 
Also  to  Han-[33]dicrafts  men,  Artificers  Labourers,  Servants, 
&c .  who  will  (in  time)  become  pinch’d  thereby,  viz.  Upon 
Raising  the  Prices  of  Victualls,  Cloathing,  and  other  Com¬ 
modities  (an  usuall  consequence  of  raysing  moneys)  which 
will  be  a  great  Oppression,  &c . 


Reprint  183 

3.  To  the  whole  Community  and  body  of  his  Majesties 
Subjects  inhabiting  such  Country  (except  the  first  importers 
of  such  Coyns)  For,  they  must  all  Expect  to  pay  for  what 
imported  Goods  they  need,  proportionably  to  such  advance 
of  Coyns :  as  is  apparent  in  the  advance  of  Twenty-Five 
Pound  Per-cent  on  all  goods  imported  into  New-England. 

Object.  1.  But  will  they  not  all  have  opportunities  of 
paying  away  the  money  they  receive ,  at  the  same  Rates  they 
receive  it  ? 

Asw.  Though  they  do,  That  will  help  little :  For,  they 
cannot  buy  the  same  Comodities  with  it,  as  they  might 
have  bought  with  the  moneys  for  which  they  Contracted: 
and  consequently  will  be  Damnified  so  much  more  thereby 
as  the  Prices  shall  be  raised. 

Object.  2.  Princes  and  States  may  give  what  values  they 
please  to  moneys  by  enhansing  or  Lowering  of  them:  And 
(say  some)  by  this  means ,  we  shall  not  only  have  moneys 
brought  in ,  but  keep  what  moneys  we  have  from  being  Trans¬ 
ported \  which  occasions  our  present  Scarcity  and  decay  of 
trade : 

Answ.  The  Question  is  not  about  the  Power,  but  profit 
or  Princes,  in  giving  new  raised  values  to  other  Princes 
moneys.  And  the  Ob-[34]  jectors  Assertion  is  a  great  Error. 
For  he  considers  not, 

1.  What  it  is  that  is  the  Real  cause  of  the  Scarcity  of 
moneys,  viz .  The  Actual  Transporting  the  Ballance  or  Over 
plus  of  the  value  of  goods  imported,  above  the  proportion  of 
the  value  of  the  native  products  exported;  which  (Exceed¬ 
ing)  must  of  necessity  be  answered  by  moneys  in  specie  ; 
and  consequently,  what  ever  rate  moneys  be  current  at 
(though  it  should  be  double  the  usuall  value)  it  will  be  ex- 


1 84  Colonial  Currency 

ported ;  and  the  higher  the  rates  be,  the  more  must  be 
Transported  for  the  ballance.  Nor  does  he  consider, 

2.  That  money  will  retain  the  same  proportion  in  value 
to  other  things,  as,  the  Generali  consent  of  other  Nations 
and  Countrys  with  whom  the  dealings  are,  does  give  it.  By 
which  it  comes  to  pass,  That  if  the  price  of  moneys  be  raised 
by  any  Prince  or  state  to  any  proportion  whatsoever,  above 
the  common  and  intrinsique  value,  the  Price  of  all  foreign 
goods  imported  into  such  Country,  will  be  proportionably 
raised  upon  the  People  by  the  Importer.  For  Example, 
Imagine  any  Country  should  have  its  Coyn  raised  from  Five 
'  Shillings  per  ounce, Sterling  Silver  (which  is  Three  pence  each 
penny  weight)  to  Six  Shillings  Eight  pence  per  ounce ,  or 
Four  pence  each  penny  weight,  which  is  one  fourth  part  {as 
in  New- England) 'One  Importer  might  and  will  sell  his  goods 
there,  at  above  one  fourth  part  more  [35]  in  price  than  he 
was  wont  to  do ;  or  he  shall  lose  by  his  Commodity.  And 
therefore  the  first  thing  he  will  consider  in  his  Sale  will  be, 
the  intrinsique  value  of  the  payment,  whether  it  be  in  money 
or  goods ;  and  hee’l  be  sure  so  to  deal  as  to  lose  nothing  by 
either ;  but  the  Country  shall  pay  the  more,  which  he’l  take 
away  with  him,  in  the  money  so  raised  in  Denomination. 

Obj.  3.  But  you'll  say ,  perhaps ,  as  imported  Goods  will  be 
raised  in  value ,  so  will  Exported :  and  that  will  counterpoise 
the  Damage . 

A  nsw .  1.  Suppose  that,  yet  it  will  not  keep  the  over¬ 
plus  of  the  ballance  in  such  Countrey ;  which  is  the  evil 
predicated.  But, 

2.  It  will  be  difficult  for  any  Country,  and  (especially  for 
New-England)  to  raise  its  wonted  known  price  of  its  Native 
Commodities,  for  a  considerable  time ;  perhaps  for  some 


Reprint  185 

years:  which  the  present  circumstances  of  New-England 
cannot  bear :  for,  while  the  grass  grows,  (as  the  proverb  is) 
the  Steer  will  starve.  And  ’tis  more  probable,  that  as  the 
Country  grows  more  populous  and  improved,  its  products 
will  multiply  ;  and  consequently  abate  in  price :  But  suppose 
the  price  to  rise  proportionably  with  the  mony ;  ’twill  then 
bear  hard  on  most  of  the  parties  before  enumerated,  whose 
settled  wages,  Rents,  &c.  will  remain  what  they  were. 

Quest.  These  are  Labrinths  it 's  confest .  But  it 's  evident 
(may  New-England-men  say)  that  we  cannot  hold  out  long 
under  such  pinching  circumstan-\3Q]ces  as  we  are  reduced  unto , 
for  want  of  Moneys .  We  must  therefore  run  the  hazzards  ; 
unless  some  expedient  be  suddainly  apply ed :  The  Shop-keepers 
must  break ;  and  they  l  break  their  Merchants ;  and  they 
their  Principals ,  &c.  Is  there  any  Remedy  ? 

Sol.  The  most  probable,  is  humbly  offered  in  the  particu¬ 
lars  following,  viz. 

1.  By  some  Act  or  Proclamation,  That  in  all  payments 
on  future  contracts,  all  sorts  of  forreign  Sterling  Silver  shall 
pass  by  weight,  at  the  value  of  his  Majesties  English  Coyn. 

2.  By  sumptuary  and  Trading-Laws  for  Ballancing  the 
importations  of  such  Commodities  as  are  most  useful,  with 
the  Exportations  of  the  manufactures  and  products  of  the 
Country  that  may  be  best  spared,  after  the  utmost  improve¬ 
ment  made  of  them :  which  may  be  easily  contrived  to  be¬ 
come  practicable. 

3.  Now,  That  there  is  so  little  of  the  Coyn  of  this  Coun¬ 
try  remaining  in  Trade,  it  may  be  the  easier  reduced  to  pass 
at  it’s  equal  intrinsique  value  compared  with  his  Majesties 
English  Coyn ;  by  passing  the  several  pieces  here  Coyned 
at  the  several  values  respectively  adjoyned  as  followeth,  viz. 


Colonial  Currency 


186 


[37] 


The  pieces  Coyned 
in  New-England  for 


12  d  to  pass  for  9  d  English  mony 


$  6  d 

- for  4  d  £ 

1  4d 

- for  3  d 

j  3d 

- for  2  d  J 

)  2d - 

- for  1  J 

id— 

- for  .  .  } 

But  these  things,  and  the  manner  of  doing  them  effectu¬ 
ally,  are  considerations  fit  to  be  submitted  to  his  Majesty 
and  Councill,  who  best  know  how  they  will  comport  with 
his  Royal  Interest  and  Leagues  with  other  Princes,  &c. 

Q .  Will  not  this  be  unjust  ?  especially  to  such  as  have 
store  of  these  moneys  lying  by  them  ? 

Sol.  Not  at  all:  for,  they  now  pass  really  for  no  more 
than  according  to  those  rates  proposed,  viz.  Twelve  pence 
for  Nine  pence,  &c.  The  difference  lying  not  in  the  intrin- 
sique  value  or  current  use,  but  in  the  Denomination  only, 
viz.  That  nine  pence  is  stampt  and  called  twelve  pence: 
They  will  still  buy  as  much  therefore,  for  their  shilling  when 
called  nine  pence,  as  they  were  wont  to  buy  when  called 
twelve  pence ;  but, 

Obj.  4.  This  will  cause  all  the  present  moneys  of  this 
Country  to  be  transported ;  and  what  shall  we  do  then? 

Answ.  That’s  answered  and  provided  for 
[38]  4.  By  the  Bank  of  Credit;  Lumbard  and  Exchange 

Qf  moneys  propounded,  which  will  both  supply  a  necessary 
proportion  of  Credit  as  good  as  mony  for  carrying  on  of 
Trade,  till  the  balance  of  Trade  be  settled:  and  then  cause 
moneys  to  be  brought  in  as  fast  as  ever  it  went  out.  For, 
as  hitherto  the  Import  of  Goods,  having  been  of  greater 


Note 


187 

value  than  the  Export,  hath  drawn  away  the  moneys  of  this 
Country,  for  the  necessary  ballancing  of  Accompts ;  &  will 
so  do  whatever  the  value  of  the  Coyn  be  set  at  (as  is  before 
shewed)  so,  for  the  same  reason  (Revers’d)  the  Export  of 
Goods  thence,  when  it  shall  come  to  be  of  greater  value  than 
the  Import  (which  such  Bank  will  assist,  in  the  way  and 
manner,  and  by  the  means  suggested)  must  as  necessarily 
bring  it  back  again  to  such  proportion  as  the  Exports  can 
be  raised ;  to  the  enriching  and  Flourishing  of  his  Majesties 
Subjects  in  this  his  Territory  of  New- England. 

He  that  cannot  see  this  is  darkened  by  unaccountable 
prejudice,  &c . 


FINIS. 

NOTE  TO  THE  “  MODEL  FOR  ERECTING  A  BANK,”  etc. 

LONDON,  1688. 

The  story  which  was  referred  to  in  the  Introduction,  of  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  the  inserted  leaves  in  the  editions  of  “  The  Model  for 
erecting  a  Bank,”  etc.,  London,  1688,  which  have  been  preserved  was 
fully  told  in  a  communication  to  the  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
made  by  myself  at  the  October  meeting,  1907,  and  separately 
published  under  the  title  “Was  it  Andros”?1  A  comparison  can 
readily  be  instituted  between  the  inserted  pages  (7  and  8,  and  13  and 
14)  in  this  reprint,  and  the  corresponding  pages  in  the  reprint  of 
the  1714  edition,  which  will  be  found  in  this  series  immediately 
following  the  note  to  “  Some  additional  considerations,”  etc. 

Any  person  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  arrange  the  material  of 
which  the  “  Model  ”  is  composed  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which 
the  contents  of  the  “  Discourse  ”  are  presented  to  the  reader,  will 

1  Proceedings,  New  Series,  Vol.  XVIII,  pp.  346,  361. 


1 88 


Colonial  Currency 

recognize  the  common  origin  of  the  two.  If  the  London  pamphlet, 
bearing  date  1688,  was  not  at  the  time  when  the  “  Discourse  ”  was 
being  prepared  for  publication,  in  the  hands  of  the  author  of  the  “  Dis¬ 
course,”  that  is  to  say  in  1686  or  1687  if  we  accept  the  date  given  on 
its  face,  it  is  at  any  rate  clear  that  the  substantial  authorship  of  the 
two  pamphlets  may  be  attributed  to  the  same  person.  It  is  another 
matter  whether  that  person  was  Blackwell.  It  would  seem  more 
probable  that  he  had  before  him  a  copy  of  the  manuscript  from 
which  the  London  pamphlet  was  printed,  the  material  of  which  he 
rearranged  and  modified  to  suit  his  taste. 

The  copy  of  the  text  and  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were  obtained 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  The  volume  may 
be  described  as  a  16  mo.  of  thirty  pages,  which  now  measure  5§  by 
3J  inches.  The  supplement  was  eight  pages  in  length.  The  pages 
have  been  trimmed  so  close  by  the  binder  that  in  some  instances 
the  final  letter  or  perhaps  two  letters  of  a  word  are  missing.  Al¬ 
though  these  missing  letters  could  easily  be  supplied,  without  mak¬ 
ing  use  of  the  copy  of  the  pamphlet  in  the  Boston  Public  Library,  it 
has  been  thought  best  to  supply  these  omissions  as  far  as  possible 
by  consulting  that  copy.  Unfortunately  the  latter  also  has  been 
treated  in  a  similar  way  and  in  a  few  instances  the  missing  letters 
have  been  supplied  from  the  reprint  of  1714,  which  follows  the  ori¬ 
ginal  so  closely  as  to  be  available  for  this  purpose. 


s  y/7  , 

,/-y:  <1 


r*'.V, 

“■  ■.agaffS£igs?ifi®«g0^ 

ai  Confiderations  q 


•f 


■  ■>  ■  .  f-V  •*><1:  ■'"*>  /V  v^*-.  t*  '  .  ,  -  i#» 

OFV^::v'\ 


* 

fi:  : 

♦  V"  ;  T  ‘  - 
::  % 


* 


.  affing-sn  -NEl'S.ENGLANDJ- 

•  (  **  :  ■  ■  f, 

AJdreKcd  onto-  the  Wor&ipfiiL  ' 

*  >  *  •  '  V  -4l 


">v 


1 

■  ^ ^  r_  I  |  Jiff  to 

-  u’J’'i:"h'cd  for  the  Information  of  the."  .  *j 

,  INHABITANTS/  ■■’V  ’  / 

'  ••  *  &  -  ' 


•  v  :  v  <&; 

TrC&ftirtYt 


**>  __  ■ 


< '  >fe 


'  "*  \-.w  ■:  &xl - 

;•«  •  toldV  arid  am  apt  to  fceReve  §*$jr  ' f 
hat  the  Exchequer  in  i'l/nrc  Runsvei;'  '/ 

’  '•  I-ow  ;  Wot- car/  thirik-'tbac’  ’ 


r.;-'  !‘i('jcne'rai  is  riba-dr  *\uer  furtiMfeG*;-  -  , 
honeH  and' good  method 
■  *V  ^iNJi  what  you  could  aht vfW$& 


(0 

A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A  A 

*^Z  ^Z  ^Z  ^Z  y&Z  ^Z  ^Z  'o  ^Z  'o  'o  ^Z  v3 Z  '^Z  'o  *<3£ 

A  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b  ^b 

*&Z  'o  ^  v3 Z  ^Z  ^Z  ^  ^Z  ^Z  ^5 d  ^  ^  ^  'o  ^  'o  ^Z  ^ Z  *&Z  ^Z  v<3 Z  ^Z  ^Z  ^Z  ^Z 

Some  Considerations  on  the  BILLS 


CREDIT 

Now  passing  in  NEW-ENGLAND . 


Addressed  unto  the  Worshipful, 

JOHN  PHILIPS’* 

Published  for  the  Information  of  the 
INHABITANTS. 


Mr.  Treasurer , 

I  Am  told,  and  am  apt  to  believe  it,  That  the  Exchequer 
in  Silver  Runs  very  Low;  Nor  can  /  think  that  the 
Country  in  General  is  much  better  furnished.  ‘Twas  an 
honest  and  good  method  you  took,  to  pay  by  Bonds  what 
you  could  not  by  Ready  [2]  Cash.  I  therefore  cannot  a 
little  wonder  at  the  great  indiscretion  of  our  Countrymen 
who  Refuse  to  accept  that,  which  they  call  Paper-mony ,  as 
pay  of  equal  value  with  the  best  Spanish  Silver.  What  ?  is 
the  word  Paper  a  scandal  to  them  ?  Is  a  Bond  or  Bill-of- 
Exchajige  for-iooo  1,  other  than  Paper  ?  and  yet  is  it  not  as 
valuable  as  so  much  Silver  or  Gold,  supposing  the  Security 


1 90  Colonial  Currency 

of  Payment  be  sufficient  ?  Now  what  is  the  Security  of 
your  Paper-mony  less  than  the  Credit  of  the  whole  Country . 
If  the  Countries  Debts  must  be  paid  (as  I  believe  they  must, 
and  I  am  sure  in  justice  they  ought)  whatever  change  of 
Government  shall  come,  then  the  Country  must  make  good 
the  Credit ,  or  more  Taxes  must  be  still  Raised,  till  the  publick 
Debts  be  Answered.  I  say,  the  Country,  and  not  the 
Gentlemen  who  Administer  the  Government,  who  are  but 
the  Countries  Agents  in  this  Affair.  All  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Land,  taken  as  one  Body  are  the  Principals ,  who  Reap 
the  Benefits ,  and  must  bear  the  Burdens ,  and  are  the  Security 
in  their  Publick  Bonds .  What  do  the  Gentlemen  get,  but 
their  labour  for  their  pains,  and  perhaps  not  a  little  Obloquie 
into  the  bargain?  can  all  their  Estates  (with  all  their  Gains, 
if  there  were  any)  bear  the  charge  of  Government  for  the 
whole  land  ?  no,  no,  it  cannot  be  supposed.  If  any  murmur 
at  [3]  their  management  as  ill,  and  that  they  have  needlesly 
drawn  the  Charges  upon  us ;  pray  tell  them,  as  long  as  they 
enjoy  the  Choice  of  Administrators ,  they  must  hear  what‘s 
past,  and  right  themselves  for  the  future ,  by  chusing  better 
next,  if  they  Know  where  to  find  them.  So  Merchants  do 
with  their  Factors,  and  ’tis  their  only  Remedy. 

You  know  Sir  you  and  /  have  had  some  former  Discourse 
about  the  Nature  of  Mony  That  (as  such)  it  is  but  a  Counter 
or  Measure  of  mens  Proprieties,  and  Instituted  mean  of  per¬ 
mutation.  As  metal  indeed  it  is  a  commodity,  Like  all  other 
things,  that  are  Merchantable.  But  as  Mony  it  is  no  more 
than  what  was  said,  And  had  it‘s  Original  from  a  general 
ignorance  of  Writing  and  Arithmetick;  But  now  these  Arts 
being  commonly  known  may  well  Discharge  mony  from  the 
conceited  Necessity  thereof  in  Humane  Traffick.  Is  not 


1 9 1 


Reprint 

Discount  in  Accounts  current  good  pay?  Do  not  Bills 
Transmit  to  Remote  Parts,  vast  summs  without  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  Silver  ?  Are  not  Taxes  paid  and  received  by 
mutual  Credit  between  the  Government  and  the  People, 
The  Government  requiring  the  Country  to  give  them 
Credit  where-with  to  pay  the  Countries  Debts,  and  then 
again  receive  the  same  Credit  of  the  Country  as  good 
pay?  ‘Tis  strange  that  in  the  mean-[4]while  between  the 
Governments  paying  the  People,  and  the  Peoples  paying  the 
Government:  The  Governments  (or  rather  the  Countries ) 
Bills  should  not  pass  between  Man  and  Man .  ‘Tis  strange 
that  one  Gentlemans  Bills  at  Port-Royal  for  divers  years, 
and  that  among  Forreigners;  or  another  Gentlemans  Bills 
in  the  Western  Parts  for  as  many  or  more  years  should  gain 
so  much  Credit  as  to  be  current  pay,  among  the  Traders  in 
those  places ;  yea,  that  the  Bill  (as  /  have  heard)  of  any  one 
Magistrate  in  the  Western  English  Plantation ,  shall  buy  any 
Commodities  of  any  of  the  Planters ;  and  yet  our  people  (in 
this  pure  air)  be  so  sottish  as  to  deny  Credit  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  when  ’tis  of  their  own  Ckusing:  Had  the  single 
Gentlemen  (above  named)  a  good  bottom  for  their  Credit 
in  their  Ware-houses ,  and  are  not  the  whole  Estates  of  the 
Massachusets  as  good  ?  Is  the  Security  of  one  Plantation- 
Magistrate,  better  than  that  of  All  the  Massachusets  Repre¬ 
sentatives ?  can  that  one  Magistrate  give  force  to  the  Con¬ 
tracts,  and  cannot  All  our  Government  do  the  same. 

Certainly  Sir  were  not  peoples  Heads  Idly  bewhizled  with 
Conceits  that  we  have  no  Magistrates ,  no  Government ,  And  by 
Consequence  that  we  have  no  Security  for  any  thing,  which 
we  call  our  own  (a  Conse-[5\quence  they  will  be  Loth  to 
allow,  though  they  cannot  help  it,  If  once  we  are  Reduced 


192 


Colonial  Currency 

to  Hobs  his  state  of  Nature ,  which  (says  he)  is  a  state  of 
War ,  and  then  the  strongest  must  sake  all)  I  say  if  such 
foolish  conceits  were  not  Entertained,  there  would  not  be 
the  least  Scruple  in  accepting  your  Bills  as  Currant  Pay. 

If  you  should  require  the  Country  to  pay  their  Taxes  in 
Silver ,  that  so  you  might  be  enabled  to  bear  the  charges  of 
the  Government  by  Silver,  when  such  quantity  of  it  as  is  need¬ 
ful  for  that  purpose  cannot  be  had  in  the  Country,  or  at  least 
not  in  any  proportion  to  be  procured,  unless  men  (according 
to  the  Proverb)  should  Buy  Gold  too  Dear ,  and  so  Ruinously 
undervalue  the  fruits  of  their  Labours :  and  their  Lands. 
This  were  to  require  men  to  Make  Bricks  without  Straw . 

If  you  Require  the  Taxes  in  Corn  at  an  overvalue ,  with  I 
know  not  what  Abatements  if  they  bring  in  Mony;  which  is 
to  set  up  (in  my  Understanding)  a  Measure ,  and  a  Meas¬ 
ure  (a  thing  which  Cod  allows  not)  And  then  if  the  Govern¬ 
ment  pay  the  charges  of  Conveyance  from  Remoter-parts ,  and 
bear  all  Damages  afterwards,  what  will  it  amount  to  when 
all  Charges  and  Damages  are  allowed;  perhaps  scarce  two 
shillings  to  the  Government,  of  five  shillings  from  the  Coun¬ 
try  ;  and  when  [6]  will  the  publick  Debts  be  paid  ?  or  when 
will  be  an  end  of  Taxing  ?  Certainly  (what-ever  were  in¬ 
tended  by  the  Proposers  of  this  way  of  Tax)  the  Tendency 
of  it  is  only  to  render  the  Government  odious  by  a  great  noise 
of  Taxes ,  when  little  comes  thereby;  a  great  cry  of  Hog- 
sheering,  when  there  is  no  Wool. 

If  neither  Silver  can  be  had,  nor  Corn  brought  in  without 
loss  both  to  the  Government  and  People,  what  remains  but 
Accounts ,  Bills,  or  such  like  Paper-pay  ?  and  certainly  this 
necessity  may  (if  /  mistake  not)  bring  to  the  whole  Country 
no  small  advantage  ;  for 


Reprint  193 

1.  Is  there  not  hereby  40,000  1  Running  Cash  in  the 
Country  more  than  ever  was ,  if  mens  folly  hinder  not  its 
Currency  ?  yea  and  more  than  they  are  ever  like  to  have,  so 
long  as  they  cannot  Keep  Silver  in  the  Country,  which 
they  will  never  do  while  the  European  Trade  continues, 
and  that  is  like  to  be  as  long  as  we.  are  a  people.  Silver 
in  N ew- England  is  like  the  water  of  a  swift  Running  River , 
always  coming,  and  as  fast  going  away ;  one  (in  its  passage) 
dips  a  Bucket-full,  another  a  Dish  or  Cup-full  for  his  oc¬ 
casions  ;  but  if  the  Influx  of  plate  from  the  West-Indies  be 
stopt  but  for  a  little  while,  and  the  Efflux  in  Returns  for 
England  continue  will  not  the  Mill-pond  be  quickly  drained, 
[7]  so  as  neither  Bucket  nor  Cup  can  dip  its  fill  ?  Whereas 
on  the  contrary, 

2.  This  our  Running  Cash  is  an  abiding  Cash :  for  no 
man  will  carry  it  to  another  Country,  where  it  will  not  pass ; 
but  rather  use  it  here,  where  it  will  (or  at  least)  ought :  and 
then  only  the  Growths  of  the  Country  will  be  carried  off,  and 
that  will  be  no  Damage  but  rather  an  Advantage  to  us. 

3.  If  this  be  made  Currant,  the  Credit  of  the  Colony  will 
rise  to  the  utmost  height  of  it’s  ability  on  all  Extraordinary 
Emergencies ;  whereas  otherwise  you  may  be  quickly  Dis¬ 
tressed  ;  for  if  the  Soldiers  cannot  put  off  their  Pay  to  Supply 
their  necessities,  who  will  hereafter  serve  the  Country  in  their 
greatest  Dangers,  and  if  the  Merchants  cannot  Buy  as  well 
as  Sell  for  Credit,  how  shall  they  carry  on  their  Trades  ? 
and  how  shall  they‘l  end  upon  great  occassions  if  the  Coun¬ 
tries  Bill  lie  dead  on  their  hands  ?  surely  they‘l  no  more 
trust  the  Country,  whatever  suddain  need  we  should  have, 
unless  on  the  bare-consideration  of  their  own  Security. 

There  is  indeed  a  way  found  out  by  poor  mens  Necessi- 

'  VOL.  I  —  13 


194 


Colonial  Currency 


ties  to  make  the  Bills  passant :  namely  by  Selling  them  at 
Under-rates .  Thus  the  poor  Soldier  is  horribly  injured ,  who 
have  adventured  their  lives  in  the  publick  Service,  and  the 
Government  made  contemptible  as  not  worthy  to  be  trusted. 
I  remember  many  years  since,  there  was  such  [8]  a  prank 
plaid  in  England  and  Ireland  after  the  War.  Some  bought 
up  the  Soldiers  Debenters  at  very  low  Rates,  and  then  with 
half  Debenters  and  half  Mony  purchased  great  Estates  in 
Kings  and  Bishops  Lands,  (a  fine  Trade  they  made  of  it  if  it 
had  held)  but  God  shook  his  Lap  at  this  dishonest  and  inter¬ 
loping  gain ;  and  a  great  unexpected  Revolution  made  them 
lose  both  their  Lands  and  Mony.  Thus  the  woman  shook 
her  Dog  by  the  Collar,  till  she  made  him  Disgorge  again  all 
her  Puddinge. 

A  better  way  (in  my  opinion)  to  make  the  Credit  passable 
without  Interruption,  is 

1.  To  Raise  the  Rates  of  those  above  the  common  Stand¬ 
ard ,  whom  you  catch  Tardy  in  Debasing  the  Credit  of  your 
bills  either  by  purchasing  them  with  little  mony ;  or  selling 
commodities  for  them  at  Excessive  dearer  Rates. 

2.  Let  all  refusers  to  receive  them  have  forthwith  their 
Taxes  demanded  in  Silver ,  nor  let  them  have  the  benefit  of 
paying  them ,  who  will  not  also  Receive  them.  And  in  like 
manner  several  such,  as  shall  at  any  time  reproach  them  as 
a  Grand  Cheat .  Who  is  it  but  they ,  that  makes  ’em  so. 

3.  What  if  the  General  Court  Declare  by  a  Law,  that  if 
any  man  tender  these  Bills  for  payment  of  his  Debts  to  be 
accepted  at  their  full  value,  which  the  Country  has  put  upon 
[9]  them  ;  If  any  private  person  will  not  receive  them  so, 
That  then  the  Government  will  not  concern  themselves  for 
the  recovery  of  those  Debts,  till  all  the  Publick  Debts  are 


Note 


r95 

discharged.  It  is  a  known  Maxim  of  Law  in  England  (and 
I  think  in  all  other  Countrys)  that  of  Debts,  The  Kings  must 
be  first  paid .  And  great  reason  for  it ;  for  why  shall  the 
Government  secure  others  Debts  by  Law ;  and  not  their  own  ? 
now  if  these  refusers  stay  for  their  Debts  till  the  Country  be 
first  serv’d  they  may  stay  till  they  are  weary.  And  if  here¬ 
after  they  resolve  to  make  no  more  Debts  (for  fear  of  this 
Law)  I  believe  their  Trading  will  be  very  dull.  Whereas 
(on  the  Contrary)  if  they  shall  accept  the  Bills ,  ’tis  probable 
their  Debts  will  come  in  apace;  their  Trading  will  revive, 
and  the  Countries  Credit  become  Currant. 

To  conclude  \_Eas  est  et  ab  Hoste  Doceri ]  The  French  (I 
hear)  at  Canada  pass  such  Paper  mony  without  the  least 
scruple  ;  whereby  the  Government  is  greatly  Fortified,  since 
they  can  at  all  times  make  what  they  need.  Now  if  we 
account  our  selves  to  Transcend  the  French  in  Courage 
’T  is  a  shame  for  us  to  come  so  far  short  of  them  in  Wit  and 
Understanding . 

These  are  my  present  thoughts,  which  you  may  com¬ 
municate  as  you  see  cause;  meanwhile  please  to  accept 
them  as  Really  intended  for  the  Public  good.  By  A  well 
wisher  to  New-England  &  your  Humble  Servant ,  &c. 

NOTE  TO  “  SOME  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  BILLS  OF 
CREDIT  NOW  PASSING  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,”  etc. 

This  pamphlet  is  to  be  found  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and  in  the 
Watkinson  Library  at  Hartford.  The  copy  which  was  originally 
prepared  for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay”  was  made  from  the  volume  in  the  Athenaeum  and  certain  missing 
portions  were  obtained  from  the  copy  in  the  Watkinson  Library. 
The  facsimile  of  the  first  page  was  obtained  from  the  Athenaeum. 


.  Colonial  Currency 


196 

The  obligation  for  this  courtesy  on  the  part  of  these  libraries  was 
acknowledged  in  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc.,  but  as  we 
profit  by  it  we  ought  perhaps  to  renew  our  expressions  of  obligation 
for  this  and  for  access  to  the  pamphlet  for  purposes  of  comparison. 

The  original  pamphlet  was  published  in  connection  with  another 
which  was  entitled  “  Some  additional  considerations,”  etc.,  and  the 
pagination  of  the  two  was  continuous.  Together  they  constituted  a 
small  pamphlet  of  twenty  pages  in  length. 

The  authorship  of  “  Some  considerations  on  the  bills  of  credit  now 
passing  in  New  England,”  etc.,  has  been  attributed  by  the  late  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull  to  Cotton  Mather.  This  assignment  is  based 
upon  the  typographical  methods  of  designating  emphasis,  as  well  as 
upon  the  similarity  of  the  views  expressed  in  the  pamphlet  to  the 
opinions  set  forth  in  the  life  of  Sir  William  Phips,  in  Magnalia. 

John  Philips,  or  Phillips,  as  the  name  is  generally  spelled,  to  whom 
the  considerations  are  addressed,  was  Cotton  Mather’s  father-in-law. 
He  lived  in  Charlestown,  was  a  colonel  of  the  militia,  and  in  1685  was 
elected  a  captain  in  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company. 
He  was  a  representative  from  1683  to  1686;  was  one  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  safety  in  1691 ; 1  was  a  member  of  the  council  by  election 
in  1691,  and  was  also  one  of  the  councillors  appointed  in  the  charter. 
He  remained  by  election  a  member  of  the  council  until  1714.  He 
was  treasurer  of  the  province  in  1692  and  1693,  and  was  judge  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  for  Middlesex  County,  1 702-1 71 5.  He  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Indians  in  1698  and  again 
in  1701.  The  connection  of  his  name  with  “Some  considerations,” 
etc.,  is  probably  due  to  his  being  at  that  time  a  councillor.  He  was 
one  of  the  committee  appointed  in  the  act  of  1690  to  sign  the  bills  of 
public  credit.2 

1  Hutchinson’s  History  of  Massachusetts  (1795  edition),  Vol.  II,  p.  340. 

2  Currency  and  Banking  in  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  I, 
p.  11.  See  also  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company, 
Vol.  I,  p.  263;  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  Vol.  II,  p.  313,  and  note;  First 
Essays  at  Banking  in  New  England,  in  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
New  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  267.  Certain  statements  derived  from  these  authorities 
have  been  modified,  after  consulting  Vols.  I  and  VII,  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 


c  n  ) 


•^rswr,-  'rrzsgim. 

/77\ 


.4 


*  A 

m 

Some  Additions!  Gonllderations  Addreffed 
unto- the  Worlhipful 

:£  L1SHA  HVTC HINSON,  *.Efq. ; 

.By  a  Gentleman- that  had  not  Teen -that 
j foregoing  Letter* 


*  .. 


I 


Sir* 


i I 


r  is  mamfdVthe  Cento  try  *s;p!unge4 

into  Circa  mftances  that  require  *>e<- 
t-j  7 4X5$  to  prefer  ve  us  from  unne$? 
that  would  be  thou  lands  of  thou  lands  tx 
.Pounds  heavier  than  our  nioft  heavy  Ta.*- 
f/;  without  greet  Charges  it  is  impoffib  e 
>to  pay  the  ju<t  irages^f  tlrem;that  have:bin 
•in  the  Pabbcrk  Service  .j  to  -defraud  -whom 
-would  not  only  be  an  Imfyudence,  which 
iMift  in  a  litde  time  leave  us  without  all 
defence,  but  alfc  an  Jr.jufikc  i hat  would 
try  in  the  Ears  of  the  'Lord  of  Hefts.  Be* 
fdes  there  fs  a  need] tty  cf  great  Expcttes 
to  Forufie  our  Hives  -agarmi:  the  Inrodes 
■of  Enemies,  we  at  this  day  have  ground  to 
•wiped,  sad  ought  to  be  prepared  for, 
awF'sr  ony  to  Gr  ambit  at  the  Riding 

-ecdfuiTaiees  tc-dcfray  our  pufc:tck<hsrges^ 

is 


i 

\ 
■  i 

1 

5 


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAa 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 


Some  Additional  Considerations  Addressed  unto  the 

Worshipful 

ELISHA  HUTCHINSON \  Esq. 

By  a  Gentleman  that  had  not  seen  the  foregoing  Letter. 
Sir, 

i.  J7"  is  manifest,  the  Country  is  plunged  into  Circum¬ 
stances  that  require  heavy  Taxes  to  preserve  us  from 
ruines,  that  would  be  thousands  of  thousands  of  Pounds 
heavier  than  our  most  heavy  Taxes ;  without  great  Charges 
it  is  impossible  to  pay  the  just  wages  of  them  that  have  bin 
in  the  Publick  Service ;  to  defraud  whom  would  not  only  be 
an  Imprudence,  which  must  in  a  little  time  leave  us  without 
all  defence,  but  also  an  Injustice  that  would  cry  in  the  Ears 
of  the  Lord  of  Hosts .  Besides  there  is  a  necessity  of  great 
Expences  to  Fortifie  our  selves  against  the  Inrodes  of  Ene¬ 
mies,  we  at  this  day  have  ground  to  expect,  and  ought  to  be 
prepared  for. 

2.  For  any  to  Grumble  at  the  Raising  needful  Taxes  to 
defray  our  publick  charges,  [12]  is  a  piece  of  unreasonable 
and  abominable  Baseness ;  and  it  is  a  scandal  to  New- 
England  that  ever  it  should  be  found  among  us.  What 
would  these  Complainers  Have  ?  would  they  have  no 
Publick  Charges  at  all  defrayd?  This  would  be  immedi¬ 
ately  not  only  to  dissolve  all  Government  but  all  Society. 
Or  would  they  have  such  Publick  Charges  born  by  voluntary 


1 98  Colonial  Currency 

Contribution  of  the  Inhabitants :  This  would  not  do  the 
Tenth part  of  what  must  bee  done  to  prevent  our  perishing; 
&  besides,  it  would  lay  the  burden  upon  those  that  are  the 
most  Willing ,  but  not  the  most  able  to  Provide  for  the 
common  Safety.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that 
nothing  is  levied  on  this  People  but  by  their  own  Consent  in 
a  General  Assembly.  And  they  deserve  not  the  name  of 
English-men ,  that  are  not  more  ready ,  and  count  it  not  more 
easie ,  to  part  with  a  pound  in  this  way,  than  a  penny  in  the 
former  Arbitrary  Mode.  Or  is  it  from  Covetousness ?  a  sin 
which  too  much  prevails  in  N ew-England\  The  Scripture 
calls  it  Idolatry ;  and  we  may  also  call  it  the  worst  ill  Hus¬ 
bandry,  it  witholds  that  from  our  necessary  defence ,  that  will 
add  to  an  Enemies  triumph  in  our  shameful  misery  ;  as  Con¬ 
stantinople,  who  refusing  to  pay  the  charge  of  a  Watch  on 
their  Walls,  were  themselves  and  their  wealth  made  a  prey 
to  the  Turks.  If  any  plead  we  [13]  have  no  Government, 
and  so  have  no  power  to  raise  mony ;  pray,  let  them  call  to 
mind,  that  all  the  Subsidies  now  raised  in  England  are  by 
an  Assembly  chosen  by  Corporations  no  otherwise  restored 
than  ours.  And  is  it  indeed  any  thing  less  than  a  Treason 
against  the  Crown  of  England,  for  any  to  intimate,  that  we 
have  no  Government  for,  and  so,  no  Protection  from,  that 
Crown  ?  Or,  looks  it  not  very  sincerely,  for  those  persons, 
whose  Consciences  never  troubled  them,  when  Taxes  were 
Treasonably  Levied,  without  any  Assembly  of  the  People, 
now  to  pretend  Conscience  for  not  paying  of  those  which  the 
i?ody  of  the  People  in  an  Assembly  have  judg’d  necessary 
to  support  their  Majesties  Interest  in  these  Territories. 

3.  All  the  Taxes  hitherto  raised  have  bin  most  advan¬ 
tageously  Employed.  Our  Present  Rulers,  have  no  personal 


Reprint  199 

benefit  by  them ;  They  spend  their  time  and  care,  and  are 
at  cost  too,  for  the  Common  Weal,  and  would  count  them¬ 
selves  well  paid  for  all,  in  the  Contentment ,  of  the  people. 
The  great  complaint  is,  That  our  ventursome  Expedition 
to  Canada  hath  run  us  into  Debt.  It  should  be  Considered 
that  the  voice  of  the  people  every  where  called  for  it.  Our 
Neighbours  in  the  West  made  us  believe  they  would  lay  all 
the  mischief  that  should  be  done  by  the  French  at  our  doors, 
if  we  did  [14]  not  attempt  it :  such  Importunities  with  as¬ 
surances  of  aid  by  Land  did  first  engage  us  and  oblige  us. 
Had  the  West  not  failed  us  wee  had  certainly  bin  Masters 
of  Canada  and  then  our  Expedition  had  been  as  much 
Extol!  d  as  now  it  is  Despis'd  \  It  was  not  thing  too  big 
for  us,  for  notwithstanding  the  failure  in  the  West,  and  the 
delays  of  some  among  our  selves,  till  the  Season  was  too  far 
spent  for  any  Great  Thing  to  be  done ;  add  also  the  scant¬ 
ness  of  our  Ammunition ,  with  the  smalness  of  our  Army 
yet  the  missing  of  Quebeck  is  hardly  accountable  to  rational 
Satisfaction.  Besides,  the  French  had  Assaulted  us  by  Land 
before  ever  we  visited  them  by  Sea ;  and  that  short  visit  we 
made  them,  we  are  assured  has  preferr’d  our  Country  from 
further  Assaults  of  theirs  upon  us.  Now  is  it  rational  to 
think  that  we  can  ever  have  a  settled  peace  while  Canada  is 
in  French  hands  ;  if  there  should  be  a  Peace  between  the  two 
crowns,  we  may  fear  they  may ,  as  they  have  boasted  they  will 
by  setting  their  Dogs  (the  Indians')  upon  us  to  make  America 
too  hot  for  us.  Hence  also  the  reducing  of  it  unto  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Empire ,  was  a  Design  wherein  was  manifest  as  the  desire 
of  our  own  future  Welfare,  so  of  doing  the  greatest  Service 
to  the  Crown  of  England.  The  Design  seemed  to  be  as 
well  laid,  as  any  that  was  [15]  undertaken  in  these  parts  of 


200 


Colonial  Currency 

the  World;  and  it  had  been  dangerous  to  have  delayed  it 
unto  another  year;  for  had  they  not  gone  with  the  Fleet  to 
Canada ,  a  thousand  Boss-Lopers  had  been  upon  our  Coun¬ 
try  Towns  and  laid  them  waste  :  Prayers  and  Hopes  for  the 
Good  Issue  of  that  Expedition,  met  not  with  a  total  Disap¬ 
pointment  ;  nor  do  we  yet  see  the  whole  Issue ;  the  business 
is  not  over  yet.  If  Heaven  hath  frowned  on  us,  it  calls  us 
to  Bewayl  our  sin,  and  not  Increase  it  by  denying  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  Debts  this  way  contracted,  or  spending  our  fury  on 
any  that  were  active  in  this  Affair.  That  were  to  carry  it 
not  like  Englishmen ,  much  less  like  Christians ,  but  more 
like  Turks  who  destroy  their  best  Counsellors  for  the  wisest 
Counsels,  where  they  do  not  Succeed.  Let  men  beware  they 
do  not  provoke  God  to  make  these  Canady  Enemies  as  fiery 
Serpents  to  sting  Murmurers  at  and  Despisers  of  Divine 
Providence. 

4.  Upon  the  Difficulties  and  Necessities  which  the  Country 
hath  been  brought  into,  a  better  way  could  not  well  be 
thought  upon,  than  the  BILLS  of  CREDIT  now  passing 
(or  that  should  be  so)  among  us.  Silver  we  have  not  enough 
in  the  Country  to  do  which  must  be  done ,  more  being  usually 
Exported  than  is  Imported.  And  why  may  we  not  do  as 
well  without  it ,  as  other  Plantations  of  America  ?  What  is 
the  use  [16]  of  Coyned  Silver  ?  but  to  furniss  a  man  with 
Credit ,  that  he  may  obtain  from  his  Neighbours  those  Com¬ 
modities,  which  he  hath  occasion  for  ?  The  Country  in  the 
General  Court ,  have  Recognized  ox  Acknowledged,  a  Debt  of  so 
many  thousand  pounds  unto  them  that  have  been  the  Ser¬ 
vants  of  the  Publick.  The  Credit  conveyed  by  these  Bills 
now  Circulates  from  one  hand  to  another  as  mens  dealings 
are,  until  the  Publick  Taxes  call  for  it.  It  is  then  brought  in 


201 


Reprint 

to  the  Treasurers  hands,  from  which  it  goes  not  out  again. 
Now  the  Conveniences  which  the  Servants  of  the  Publick,  have 
had  by  them,  have  honestly  paid  the  Countries  Debts ;  and 
what  could  coyned  Silver  have  done  more  ?  Hence  it  follows, 
that  for  any  to  Squeese ,  the  first  Receivers  of  these  Bills,  by 
forcing  them  to  abate  of  their  just  value ;  and  then  for  them¬ 
selves  to  bring  these  Bills  to  the  Publick  Treasury,  where 
they  are  better  than  ready  Silver ,  is  a  crying  Opresion. 
When  any  persons  pay  their  Rates  to  the  Constables  in 
these  Bills,  they  do  in  a  manner  say  They  took  no  indirect 
Advantage  to  get  them  cheaper  than  they  are  of  Credit  for . 
If  the  Government  can  find  out  any  that  have  done  other¬ 
wise,  they  ought  to  advance  the  Rates  of  such  people  to 
procure  a  Reparation  to  them  that  have  been  wronged ;  It 
will  speak  ill  for  New-England,  that  [17]  poor  Soldiers  and 
Seamen  should  be  cheated  by  any  of  the  Inhabitants,  and  no 
Restraint  put  upon  them,  no  Redress  required  where  it  may 
be  done. 

5.  It  is  strange  to  think  that  New- Englanders,  who  dwell 
in  such  a  keen  air ,  should  not  have  sharpness  enough  to  per¬ 
ceive  the prudence,  justice  and  universal  benefit,  of  paying  and 
saving  publick  Charges,  by  these  Bills  of  Credit .  When 
Canada  shall  be  better  known  to  us,  we  shall  find,  It  is  a 
common  thing  for  the  Government  at  Quebeck  to  pay  their 
men  in  such  ways,  &  the  Inhabitants  there  are  not  so  dis¬ 
honest  as  to  cheat  the  needy  persons  to  whom  the  Bills 
were  first  given,  of  half  the  worth  of  them ;  yea,  there  are 
no  men  of  business  through  the  world,  who  do  not  use  as 
well  as  know  the  way  of  dealing  by  Bills  of  Credit :  How 
many  Credible  Merchants  are  there,  whose  Bills  do  Pass 
as  ready  mony,  with  hundreds  of  People  with  whom  they 


202 


Colonial  Currency 


have  had  no  immediate  Concernment?  And  shall  not  the 
Government  of  this  Colony,  have  much  Credit  with  a  people 
that  choose  all,  and  make  part  of  it?  Besides,  no  man  that 
deals  but  for  ten  Pounds ,  will  refuse  to  grant,  that  Dis¬ 
count  in  Accounts  Currant  is  good  Payment.  All  these 
Bills  enable  people  to  Discount  with  the  Treasurer  at  last; 
therefore  it  is  but  fair  and  just  they  should  have  a  General 
Circulation 

[18]  6.  The  more  sensible  part  of  mankind  have  thought 
Banks  of  Credit  on  many  Accounts  preferable  to  Silver  in 
their  Pockets ;  it  is  so  in  Venice ,  Paris ,  Leghorn  &  Amster¬ 
dam,  and  other  such  trading  places.  We  shall  find  men  who 
have  had  store  of  mony,  have  carried  it  into  Banks ,  from 
whence  they  have  taken  only  Bills  of  Credit,  with  which  they 
have  managed  all  their  businesses,  Bills  being  less  Trouble¬ 
some  &  Cumbersome ,  then  Silver  would  be ;  and  more  Safe . 
What  hapned  at  Venice  is  very  memorable :  That  State  had 
occasion  for  Two  Millions  of  Ducats,  accordingly  monys 
were  brought  into  the  Bank,  and  Bills  given  out  for  the  same 
value ;  such  was  the  usefulness  of  these  Bills  that  they  would 
not  afterwards  be  parted  with  for  mony ;  and  the  Govern¬ 
ment  was  forced  unto  Contrivances,  to  limit  the  value  of 
them .  If  we  as  well  understood  our  interest,  these  Bills 
would  in  a  little  time  be  so  valuable,  that  men  would  Cheer¬ 
fully  give  Silver ,  to  purchase  them  at  their  full  Credit.  ’Tis 
true  ours  are  founded  on  the  acknowledgement  which  the 
Country  hath  made  of  their  being  so  much  in  Debt,  and 
their  Resolution  of  raising  what  is  owing.  Now  suppose,  that 
Fund ,  be  never  so  Tottering,  it  is  a  sufficient  bottom  for  those 
few  Bills  which  there  hath  yet  bin  order  for :  besides,  these 
have  some  advantages  which  Stampt  Silver  will  never 


203 


Reprint 

have;  They  are  [19]  so  well  Contrived,  that  it  is  harder 
to  Counterfeit  any  of  them,  then  to  Counterfeit  any  Coyn 
in  the  World.  And  though  they  are  more  Portable  then 
Coyn,  yet  they  will  not  be  Exported  out  of  the  Land;  nor 
will  they  be  hoarded  up,  but  Inspire  our  whole  trade  with 
such  a  vigor  as  hitherto  hath  not  been  seen.  All  men 
must  own,  that  till  we  can  light  on  something  Equivalent 
to  Coyn ,  that  may  Run  amongst  us  in  such  a  quantity 
as  may  agree  with  our  Affayrs,  and  yet  not  Bleed  away  in 
vast  summ’s  by  every  Vessel  that  goes  to  forreign  parts,  we 
shall  always  have  a  Consumption  upon  us,  In  short,  if  the 
way  of  dealing  with  these  Bills,  were  more  improved  and 
refined,  it  were  easie  to  propose  a  certain  method  by  which 
this  poor  Country  might  in  one  half  years  time  be  Enriched 
above  One  Hundred  Thousand  Pound:  yea,  we  might  at  any 
time  Command  halfe  that  Summe  without  the  Tenth  Part 
of  that  vexation  that  now  every  Country  Rate  occasions. 
And  let  it  be  considered,  whether  they  who  do  decry  our  Bills 
of  Credit ,  do  sufficiently  weigh  the  desperate  circumstances 
of  the  Country.  We  are  surrounded  with  Adversaries :  if 
we  cannot  find  store  of  men  to  Expose  themselves  for  us  at 
this  time,  no  man  in  his  wits,  can  think  the  Country  can 
stand :  these  Men  must  have  mony  to  reward  and  support 
them  in  their  Services,  or  [20]  they  can  do  no  more  :  but 
Silver  we  say  we  have  not ;  Credit  we  may  have,  and  it  will 
do  as  well,  if  by  this  Credit  we  permit  our  Friends  to 
Command  the  same  useful  things  as  if  they  had  ready  Silver 
in  their  hands.  If  the  French  should  Prevail,  some  men 
would  part  with  Thousands  and  have  no  Bills  of  Credit  for 
it;  to  make  ours  passable,  is  the  most  probable  visible  means 
to  prevent  it.  Hence  to  do  any  thing  to  render  those  Bills 


204  Colonial  Currency 

Contemptible  and  Unpassable ,  is  in  Effect  to  leave  the  Country 
without  all  manner  of  Defence,  against  any  that  would  prey 
upon  us ;  which  is  a  Moral  Madness  we  should  upon  no  Terms 
render  our  selves  guilty  of :  Whereas  if  these  Bills  of  Credit 
might  pass  with  full  Credit  among  us,  we  might  with  Gods 
Blessing,  be  able  to  Encounter  greater  Difficulties  than  we 
have  yet  met  withal.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  take  notice  of 
the  foolish  Flout  of  some,  in  the  Name  they  put  upon  these 
Bills,  calling  them  Paper-mony ;  when  all  know  that  a  Paper 
signed  and  sealed  may  be  worth  many  Pounds  of  Silver. 
And  why  may  not  Paper-mony  be  as  good  as  Tobacco-mony , 
Potato-mony  and  Sugar-mony  ?  yea,  do  not  our  Brethren  at 
Co7mecticut  find,  Corn-mony  will  do  their  business  for  them 
All  the  Difference  is,  that  some  English-People  in  America 
knowhow  to  make  a  Bargain  with  what  they  Have ,  for  what 
they  Have  not\  which  [21]  it  is  time  for  New- England  to 
Learn. 

7.  It  is  time  for  all  people  to  examine,  what  is  that  which 
clogs  the  passing  of  our  Bills.  It  is  the  debasing  of  them, 
so  that  twenty  shillings  in  a  Bill  can  scarce  find  Credit  for 
fourteen  or  fifteen  shillings  of  stamped  silver :  But  wherein 
is  the  Original  of  this  ?  Is  it  in  the  Merchant  or  the  Trader  ? 
surely  they  who  have  lent  the  Country  some  Thousands  of 
Pounds ,  much  of  it  in  ready  silver,  and  all  of  it  without 
Interest,  or  other  Gains  (that  an  unthankful  Neighbour  hood 
have  reported  of  them  and  reproached  them  with)  and  have 
taken  their  whole  Repayment  in  Bills  of  Credit ,  they  should 
be  willing  to  keep  up  the  Credit  of  these  Bills.  Is  it  in  the 
Husbandman  ?  one  would  think  they  who  find  it  so  hard  to 
buy  Silver „  should  be  willing  with  their  Provisions  to  buy 
Credit ,  that  may  be  as  good  (and  in  some  cases  better)  to 


Reprint  205 

them  than  ready  Cash.  It  remains  then  that  all  should  joyn 
to  mend  this  great  error.  And  why  may  not  Boston  begin? 
whereever  were  the  first  fault,  it  seems,  possible  now  for 
Boston  to  Correct  the  whole.  It  is  supposed  the  Govern¬ 
ment  will  be  resolute  in  Raising  what  hath  been  granted  by 
the  Country  this  year,  for  the  Pub  lick  Rates.  Many  Pro¬ 
posals  have  been  made  unto  the  Government,  for  establish¬ 
ing  the  Credit  of  our  Bills.  In  my  opinion,  they  need  only 
[22]  to  do  this ;  Let  the  Publick  Rates  be  vigerously  Raised. 
These  Rates  will  in  one  years  time  fetch  back  all  the  Bills 
into  the  Treasurery,  where  they  will  be  cancelled.  The 
people  will  find  it  their  Advantage  then  (common  sense  will 
teach  them)  to  furnish  themselves  with  these  Bills ;  tho’ 
they  give  ready  Silver  for  them,  they  will  find  they  thereby 
save  a  Shilling  in  a  Pound.  If  but  a  competent  number 
of  men,  who  Deal  much ,  would  now  give  your  selves  the 
Trouble  of  Meeting,  to  Debate,  Agree,  Conclude,  and  En¬ 
gage  upon  giving  a  just  Reputation  to  our  Bills,  The  whole 
Country  must  and  will  joyn  with  them  in  it.  And  if  they 
will  further  give  themselves  the  Trouble  of  Publishing  to 
the  Country,  what  may  Rectifie  some  common  mistakes,  and 
how  willing  they  themselves  are  to  pay  and  also  to  take  Bills 
at  a  due  price,  doubtless  it  would  much  promove  the  Cure 
of  this  Distemper  among  us. 

Sir,  You  will  candidly  accept  of  these  Thoughts,  from  one 
who  counts  and  loves  New-England  as  his  Country,  tho  he 
was  not  Born  and  Bred  in  it.  The  Violations  of  Conscience 
as  well  as  Policy  among  us  in  the  Things  I  have  Discoursed 
of  have  made  me  count  it  my  Duty  thus  to  answer  your  De¬ 
sire,  of  seeing  some  thoughts  upon  the  Subject  [23]  we  have 


206  Colonial  Currency 

now  had  before  us .  You  see  how  much  a  Desire  of  yours  is  a 
Command,  on, 

Sir, 

Your  Servant,  &c. 

FINIS 

Boston ,  Printed  by  Benjamin  Harris ,  and  John  Allen :  And 
are  to  be  Sold  at  the  London-Cojfee- House.  1691. 


NOTE  TO  “  SOME  ADDITIONAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ADDRESSED 
UNTO  THE  WORSHIPFUL  ELISHA  HUTCHINSON,  Esq.,”  etc. 

This  so-called  letter  occupies  pages  11  to  23  inclusive  in  the 
continuously  paged  pamphlet  which  contains  “  Some  considera¬ 
tions,”  etc.,  and  “  Some  additional  considerations,”  etc.  It  will  be 
seen  from  the  imprint  at  the  end  that  it  is  a  Boston  production, 
and  that  the  date  of  its  appearance  is  1691,  which  might  perhaps 
have  been  inferred  from  its  contents.  The  fact  that  it  was  published 
in  connection  with  “  Some  considerations,”  etc.,  with  continuous 
pagination,  and  the  further  fact  that  the  two  bear  but  one  colophon, 
relieve  us  of  the  necessity  for  special  acknowledgment  to  the  libraries 
to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  copy  and  the  facsimile,  since  that 
has  already  been  made  in  the  note  to  “  Some  considerations,”  etc. 

The  author  of  “Some  additional  considerations,”  etc.,  describes 
himself  in  the  concluding  paragraphs  of  the  pamphlet  as  “  one  who 
counts  and  loves  New-England  as  his  Country,  tho  he  was  not  Born 
and  Bred  in  it.”  This  obviously  applies  to  Capt.  John  Blackwell. 
Moreover,  Blackwell  had  shown  that  he  was  in  favor  of  a  paper  cur¬ 
rency  by  his  advocacy  of  a  bank  in  1686.  At  a  later  date,  when 
the  loans  of  the  province  were  termed  “  the  Public  Bank,”  and  when 
the  advocates  of  private  banks  were  opposed  to  the  public  bank,  the 
fact  that  Blackwell  had  been  an  advocate  of  a  private  bank  would 
not  have  served  in  itself  as  a  foundation  for  a  conjecture  that  he  was 


Note 


207 


the  author  of  a  pamphlet  in  advocacy  of  the  bills  of  public  credit. 
At  this  time,  however,  the  lines  were  not  drawn  between  the  private 
and  the  public  bank.  Blackwell  had,  shortly  after  the  abandonment 
of  the  scheme  for  a  bank  of  credit  in  1686,  gone  to  Philadel¬ 
phia  to  look  after  Penn’s  interests  in  his  proprietary  colony,  but 
in  1690  had  returned  to  Boston.  His  presence  here  at  that  time, 
his  belief  in  a  possible  currency  based  upon  credit,  whether  of 
the  colony  or  of  private  individuals,  and  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  born  in  this  colony  but  had  only  recently  crossed  the  ocean, 
make  possible,  perhaps  probable,  the  conjecture  put  forth  by  Mr. 
Trumbull  that  he  was  the  author  of  “  Some  additional  considera¬ 
tions,”  etc.1  In  further  proof  of  this,  note  the  similarity  of  the  lan¬ 
guage  used  in  the  description  of  the  Bank  of  Venice  with  the  longer 
account  given  in  the  “  Model  ”  page  174,  ante. 

Elisha  Hutchinson  was,  like  John  Phillips,  a  member  of  the  council 
at  the  time  when  this  pamphlet  was  published.  The  record  of  his 
career  indicates  that  his  selection  for  the  office  was  due  to  his  promi¬ 
nence  as  a  citizen  of  Boston.  He  was  admitted  as  a  freeman  in 
1666;  was  selectman  1678-80  inclusive;  deputy,  1680-82;  select¬ 
man  in  1683;  both  assistant  and  selectman  in  1684,  ’85,  and  ’86;  in 
1687  a  selectman;  councillor  in  1689;  appointed  to  the  council  in 
the  charter,  and  thereafter  yearly  elected  till  his  death  in  1717;  an 
ensign2  in  1674;  a  lieutenant3  in  1675  ;  a  captain4  in  1680;  and 
thereafter  promoted  through  the  grades  of  major  and  lieutenant- 
colonel  to  the  office  of  colonel.  His  name  appears  in  the  writ  of 
quo  warranto  served  upon  Governor  Bradstreet  by  Edward  Ran¬ 
dolph  as  Gen.  Elisha  Hutchinson,5  although  the  rank  that  he  then 
held  was  captain.6  He  held  for  a  time  the  position  of  captain  of  the 
castle.7  As  townsman  he  was  called  upon  to  serve  on  various  com- 

1  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian  Society,  New  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  281. 

2  Massachusetts  Colony  Records,  Vol.  V,  p.  25. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  33. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  279. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  421. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  427. 

7  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VII,  pp. 
323,  653,  710. 


208 


Colonial  Currency 

mittees  of  importance,  and  as  councillor  and  militia  officer  he  was 
appointed  several  times  a  commissioner  and  sent  upon  missions  of  a 
military  or  mixed  military  and  diplomatic  character.  He  was  for  a 
long  time  a  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  and  for  a  portion 
of  that  time  held  the  office  of  chief  justice.1  He  was  appointed  a 
commissioner  under  the  impost,  excise,  and  tonnage  of  shipping 
act  of  1692,  and  was  chosen  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  excise2 
under  the  act  of  1698. 

It  is  to  his  foresight  that  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  “  Body  of 
Liberties  of  1641,”  now  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  was  preserved. 
This  collection  was  reprinted  by  William  H.  Whitmore  in  “  Colonial 
Laws  of  Massachusetts ;  ”  and  Mr.  Whitmore,  in  speaking  of  its  for¬ 
tunate  preservation,  adds :  “  It  is  evident  from  this  collection  that 

Hutchinson  gave  a  careful  attention  to  the  question  of  the  laws.” 

% 

1  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VII,  p.  509; 
Vol.  VIII,  p.  269  and  p.  295. 

2  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VII,  p.  595 
and  p.  600.  His  career  in  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company  is  set 
forth  in  the  History  of  the  company,  Vol.  I,  p.  214. 


I 


In  Explanation  thereof.  - 
'  -.'V  -‘T  v:iv.  ■'■ 

Adapted  to  the  Ufc  of  any  Trading 
Countrey,  where  there  is  a  Scarcity 
'  of  M  O  N  E  Y  S  : 


! 


;  O  ND  0  N  ■  P tinted  \xi  ti 
Jlepri?ice4  iic  BO  SI  ON  m 
the  Year,  1  7  1 


9.  •  hy 


ic  Year,  r  <5  B 

New- 1 ngf mA*  Wft 


T* 


/ 


* 

V 


A 


MODEL 

For  Eretting  a 

Panfe  of  Cretit ; 

W  I  T  H  A 

DISCOURSE 

In  Explanation  thereof. 

Adapted  to  the  Ufe  of  any  Trading 
Countrey,  where  there  is  a  Scarcity 
of  M  O  N  E  Y  S : 

More  Efpecially  for  His  Majefties  Plantations 
in  AMERICA, 

Quo  Communius  eo  Melius. 


LONDON :  Printed  in  the  Year,  1688. 
Reprinted  at  BOSTON  in  New-England,  in 
the  Year,  1714. 


VOL.  I  —  14 


210 


Colonial  Currency 


The  Preface  to  the  READER. 

THE  Difficulties ,  which  the  Trade  of  this  Province  labours 
under ,  by  reason  of  the  Scarcity  of  Money ,  having  rendred  it 
necessary  that  some  Expedient  be  found  out  to  supply  that  De¬ 
ficiency  :  A  Scheme  of  a  Bank  of  Credit  founded  upon  a  Land 
Security ,  has  been  accordingly  projected ;  and  will  be  humbly 
offered  to  the  Consider atio7i  of  the  General  Assembly ,  at  their 
next  Session . 

Now,  in  as  much  as  things  of  this  Nature  ( thd  recom¬ 
mended  in  Europe,  by  long  Experience  of  their  general  Use¬ 
fulness  and  Benefit ,  to  the  Places  where  they  are  Established) 
yet  may  be  here  in  hazard  of  not  meeting  with  that  Regard 
and  Encouragement  they  deserve ,  for  want  of  a  due  Informa¬ 
tion  concerning  them:  And  there  having  been  many  Years 
since  Printed  in  London,  a  Projection  of  much  the  same 
Nature  with  that  prepared  here  ;  ( thd  not  so  Beneficial  to  the 
Pub  lick,  or  on  so  Solid  a  Foundation),  yet  setting  forth  in  a 
Plain  and  Familiar  way,  not  only  the  Nature,  but  the  Feazi- 
bleness  and  Utility  of  such  a  Fund  of  Credit ;  it  was  judgd 
Convenient  to  Re-print  the  same  here,  that  so  all  Persons 
might  have  an  Opportunity  of  gaining  an  Insight  into  it :  It 
being  rationally  Concluded,  That  such  a  Bank  being  made  to 
appear  to  be  of  Necessity  to  us  in  our  present  Circumstances, 
and  of  great  and  general  Benefit ;  there  is  no  Publick-  spirited 
Person  but  will  set  to  his  helping  Hand,  to  Promote  the 
Establishment  of  the  same . 

Norton, 

Feb.  26.  1 71 J: 


21  I 


Reprint 

[1]  A  MODEL  for  Erecting  a  Bank  of  Credit  Lumbard 
and  Exchange  of  Moneys,  Founded  on  Lands,  Goods,  and 
Merchandizes:  To  be  undertaken  and  managed  by  Persons 
of  good  Reputation,  Prudence  and  Estates,  in  a  voluntary 
Partnership ,  as  other  Merchantly  Affairs :  Adapted  for  the 
Use  of  any  Countrey,  or  Trading  part,  where  there  is  a 
Scarcity  of  Moneys;  and,  in  want  thereof,  they  are  con¬ 
strained  to  Truck,  or  Barter  by  Commodities,  &c.  wherein 
is  Discoursed, 

1.  Some  things  by  way  of  Premise ,  touching  Banks  in 
General. 

2.  The  Definition  of  such  a  Bank. 

3.  The  Constitution. 

4.  The  necessary  Rules  to  be  observed. 

5.  The  particular  Advantages  thereof,  to  those  that  shall 
voluntarily  deal  with  such  a  Partnership. 

6.  Some  of  the  most  material  and  pertinent  Queries  and 
Objections  thereto ,  Resolved  and  Answered. 

7.  The  Conclusion  by  way  of  Animadversion ,  upon  the 
whole:  Briefly. 


Of  the  First ,  viz.  Some  things  premised  for  Introduction , 

touching  Banks  in  general. 

MOney,  whether  Gold  or  Silver,  is  but  a  measure  of 
the  value  of  other  things;  yet  hath,  for  a  long 
Succession  of  Ages  (especially  in  the  Civilized 
and  Trading  part  of  [2]  the  World)  obtained  to  be  the  usual, 
and  best  known  means  of  Interchange. 

This  measure  and  way  of  Interchange,  was  originally  oc¬ 
casioned  by  the  experimented  inconveniences  of  common 


212 


Colonial  Currency 

Barter;  in  which  way,  unless  both  the  Parties  dealing,  have 
like  occasion,  reciprocally,  of  each  others  Commodities,  the 
less  necessitous  Overreaches  the  greater,  by  imposing  the 
price  of  both,  to  his  own  advantage,  and  the  others  detri¬ 
ment,  which  is  not  equal ;  nor  can  there  be  Equality  where 
there  is  no  common  Standard  between  them. 

But,  whether  the  Mines  fail,  or  Men  have  not  been  so 
fore-seeing  and  industrious  to  bring  in,  to  most  Countreys, 
a  sufficiency  of  Money  or  Bullion,  wherewith  to  manage 
their  increasing  Trades,  or,  that  Traders  for  want  of  other 
Returns,  have  been  necessitated,  for  Balance  of  the  Surcharge 
of  Goods  imported,  to  remit  the  Coyns  of  some  Countreys 
into  others :  Or,  for  other  Causes  (not  necessary  on  this 
occasion  to  be  further  inquired  into)  tis  now  so  hard  to 
come  by,  in  some  places,  for  carrying  on  of  Trade,  to  answer 
the  vastness  of  Mens  attempts,  and  aims  of  increase  in  Mer¬ 
chandize,  as  that  its  found,  in  many  Countreys,  insufficient  in 
this  Age  of  the  World  :  And  that  hath  put  divers  Persons  and 
Countreys,  upon  contrivances  how  to  supply  that  Deficiency, 
by  other  Mediums ;  some  of  which  have  happily  pitch’d  upon 
that  of  Banks,  Lumbards,  and  Exchange  of  Money  by  Bills, 
which  have  thriven  with  them. 

[3]  The  two  former  of  these,  viz.  Banks  and  Lumbards, 
have  been  set  on  foot  in  divers  Trading  Countreys,  by  their 
respective  Publick  Undertakings,  and  have  succeeded  to 
their  abundant  Inriching.  Perhaps  others  have  thought, 
that  would  have  occasion’d  the  overflowing  of  Moneys 
amongst  them:  Especially  if  they  raised  the  Values  of  Gold 
&  Silver  above  the  common  Standard  ;  but  as  they  have 
been  mistaken,  or  their  Surfeit  of  Trade  hath  obscured  the 
visibility  of  it ;  and  protracted  more  rational  Considerations 


213 


Reprint 

of  Redressing,  till  it  hath  proved  almost  Fatal,  to  the  im¬ 
poverishing  of  their  Countreys :  So  the  other  have  really 
experimented,  that  their  Banks  have  been,  as  well  with  other 
Countries,  as  amongst  themselves,  of  greater  Value  than  the 
Species  of  Gold  and  Silver :  And  yet,  such  Places  drain 
away  the  said  Species  from  the  other,  who  under  those  mis¬ 
taken  apprehensions  have  Courted  it,  as  the  only  real  good 
thing  for  a  Countrey. 

The  Third,  viz .  that  of  Exchange  of  Moneys,  hath  been 
for  the  most  part  managed  by  the  respective  Merchants  of 
all  places ;  who  in  their  particular  Dealings  and  Correspond¬ 
ences  (fore-laying  Advantages  to  themselves  thereby)  have 
unaccountably  controll’d  it,  and  vary  it  often,  in  each  Annual 
Revolution. 

’Tis  not  to  be  doubted,  but  that  all  Three  of  these  may 
be  accommodated  &  improved,  to  the  Publick  Advantage 
of  any  Countrey :  Especially,  if  managed  in  Partnership  by 
Private  Hands,  being  persons  of  known  Integrity,  Prudence 
and  M  Estates :  subjecting  the  annual  Profits  accruing 
thereby  to  the  answering  the  Injury,  damage,  or  loss  by 
their  undertaking. 

The  best  Foundation  for  such  an  Attempt,  is,  that  of  Real 
and  Personal  Estates,  instead  of  the  Species  of  Gold  and 
Silver.  For,  as  a  Bank  of  Moneys  is  liable  to  many  casual¬ 
ties  and  hazards ;  so,  the  hoarding  up  of  Moneys  in  Banks, 
necessitates  the  taking  out  the  more  Bills;  which  is  one 
Malady  this  Proposed  Bank  will  cure. 

We  shall  therefore,  at  present,  begin  with,  and  principally 
discourse  of  the  two  first  of  these :  viz.  The  Bank  of  Credit, 
as  it  may  be  rendred  susceptible  of  the  Second,  viz.  The 
Lumbard,  conjunct:  accounting  both  the  one  and  the  other 


214 


Colonial  Currency 

to  be  founded  as  aforesaid,  viz.  On  lands  or  Real  Estates 
mortgaged,  and  staple  durable  Goods,  and  Merchandises  de¬ 
posited  :  such  as  any  Countreys  Products  and  Manufactures 
will  by  Art  and  Industry  produce  and  furnish. 

Here  might  be  also  discours’d  A  Lumbard  for  the  Poor, 
by  some  called  Mons  Pietatis ;  But  that’s  fitter  to  be  the 
Handmaid  of  the  other;  for,  ’twill  be  too  poor  to  encour¬ 
age  an  undertaking  by  it  self,  or  for  a  beginning:  Neither 
will  there  be  any  such  necessity  thereof,  when  this  Bank  is 
settled ;  forasmuch  as  this  will  imploy  most  of  those,  who  are 
usually  maintained  in  Idleness,  if  they  will  betake  themselves 
to  Industry,  at  such  moderate  wages  as  would  enable  them 
to  live  comfortably,  without  exposing  their  Imployers  to  like 
Poverty  with  themselves.  [5]  And  besides,  this  Bank  of 
Credit  and  Lumbard,  when  understood,  and  received  in  any 
Countrey  with  general  Approbation,  will  in  due  time  render 
that,  as  also  the  Third,  viz.  that  of  the  Exchange  of  Moneys 
by  Bills,  the  more  intelligible,  and  as  useful. 

Of  the  second  Particular  viz.  The  definition  of  such  a  Bank . 

A  Considerable  number  of  Persons,  some  of  each  Rank, 
Trade,  Calling  and  Condition,  especially  in  the  princi¬ 
pal  Place  or  Places  of  Trading  in  any  Countrey,  Agree 
voluntarily  to  Receive  as  ready  Moneys,  of  and  from  each 
other,  and  any  Persons  in  their  ordinary  dealings,  Bank-bills 
of  Credit,  Signed  by  several  Persons  of  good  Repute,  joyned 
together  in  a  Partnership,  given  forth  on  Lands  of  good 
Title  mortgaged,  and  staple  unperishing  Goods  and  Mer¬ 
chandizes,  deposited  in  fitting  places  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Partnership  for  that  purpose ;  to  the  value  of  about  one  half, 
or  two  thirds  of  such  respective  Mortgages  and  Deposits: 


215 


Reprint 

Which  said  Bills,  thro’  their  experimented  usefulness,  be¬ 
come  diffused  by  mutual  consent ;  and  passing  from  one 
hand  to  another,  in  a  kind  of  Circulation,  and  under  repu¬ 
tation  of  so  certain  a  Fund,  have  at  least  equal  Advantages 
with  the  Current  Money  or  Coyn  of  any  Countrey,  attending 
them,  to  all  who  become  satisfied  to  deal  with  them. 

Q.  But  it  may  be  said  by  some,  This  is  a  [6]  very  brief 
Account,  and  requires  further  Explanation.  We  are  yet 
Strangers  to  the  Nature,  and  requisite  Constitution  of  a 
Bank  of  Credit,  and  what  lies  on  us  to  do,  in  order  to  our 
being  made  partakers  of  any  benefits  or  advantages  thereby, 
to  such  as  shall  voluntarily  comply  therewith  ;  nor  do  we  see 
clearly  our  Security  in  so  doing,  nor  upon  what  terms.  Pray 
inform  us  of  these  things,  so  far  as  we  may  be  safely  guided 
into  the  way,  and  unto  the  end  of  it.  Also,  in  case  this  Bank 
should  terminate,  how  we  shall  be  dealt  withal,  in  the  clos¬ 
ing  up  of  Accompts,  so  as  may  be  without  damage,  either 
to  the  Bank,  or  to  our  Selves.  We  doubt  not  but  you  have 
as  well  Considered  the  End  as  the  Beginning.  Tho’  if  it 
prove  useful,  we  can  see  no  cause  why  a  thing  of  so  great 
Advantages  as  are  suggested,  should  procure  any  persons 
Ill-will,  or  Weariness  of  it.  And  we  are  also  satisfied,  that 
an  Affair  of  this  nature,  wherein  the  Persons  and  Estates  of 
so  many  shall  be  involved  (as  it  seems  probable  will  be  where 
it  once  gets  footing)  cannot  suddenly  be  knock’d  off,  but 
with  inconvenience. 

Answ.  The  clearing  these  Doubts  you’l  find  in  the 
particulars  following.  Therefore  now, 


2l6 


Colonial  Currency 


Of  the  third  P articular,  viz.  The  Constitution  of  this 

Bank . 

IT  is  proposed  that  there  be  One  and  Twenty  persons 
(or  less)  in  the  Partnership  of  this  Bank :  whereof  Seven 
to  be  called  Principal  Ma-\j~\nagers :  Who,  or  any  Three  or 
more  of  them  may  have  the  power  of  managing  and  govern¬ 
ing  the  whole  affair,  according  to  the  Constitution  &  Rules 
thereof ;  and  Fourteen  Deputies  to  be  imployed  by  them  as 
Accomptants,  Surveyors,  Appraisers,  Store-keepers,  & c. 
All  of  them  to  be  persons  of  good  &  general  Reputation,  for 
Integrity,  Prudence  and  Estates :  But,  forasmuch  as,  at  the 
first  entrance  upon  such  an  affair,  it  may  not  be  needful  to 
ingage  so  many;  that  any  Seven  of  them  (more  or  less)  may 
be  conceived  sufficient  to  begin  the  same;  and  manage  it, 
until,  by  the  coming  on  of  Business,  it  shall  be  judged  neces¬ 
sary  &  incouraging,  to  settle  the  Full,  or  some  greater 
Number  of  them.  These  may  all  be  ingaged  by  Articles  of 
Agreement,  &  Covenants  in  Partnership,  to  attend  thereon, 
and  be  responsible  for  their  doings,  according  to  such  Con¬ 
stitution  and  Rules  in  that  behalf. 

These  are  to  receive  all  Proposals  from  any  persons  touch¬ 
ing  their  having  such  Credit  thereout  as  they  shall  desire 
upon  their  said  Estates  of  Lands  or  Goods  respectively ; 
and  to  contract  &  agree  with  them  therein,  at  such  Values, 
&  for  such  Time  as  they  shall  judge  the  Security  proposed 
of  either  kind  will  admit,  and  to  draw  up,  and  perfect  such 
Bank-bills,  Bills  of  Sale,  Mortgages,  Grants  &  Defezances 
thereof,  as  Lands  or  Goods  respectively  shall  require;  and 
perfect  the  Counterparts  thereof,  to  the  Mortgagers  and 
Depositors. 


217 


Reprint 

They  are  also  to  cause  the  said  Mortgages  &  [8]  Deposits 
to  be  laid  up  and  stored,  respectively,  in  as  safe  and  convenient 
Rooms,  and,  Warehouses,  &c.  as  shall  be  without  exception,  to 
prevent  damage  of  Weather,  Robbery,  Fire,  Water,  or  Vermin 
of  any  kind,  whereby  they  may  be  impaired,  or  dampnified, 
and  all  this,  under  the  trust  and  custody  of  such  numbers  of 
the  said  Partners,  as  no  opportunity  can  be  taken  to  impair 
or  lessen  the  Security,  unless  they  should  all  agree  therein ; 
which  cannot  reasonably  be  imagined  being  such  as  are 
proposed.  But,  for  the  better  Security  thereof,  there  may  be 
continual  Watching  on  all  such  places;  and  it  will  be  the 
Interest  of  all  persons,  any  way  concerned  in  the  affairs  & 
profits  of  such  a  Bank,  to  be  careful  to  prevent,  and  to  give 
Advertisement  of  any  attempt  made  to  the  impairing  & 
prejudicing  thereof,  for  that  their  livelihood  and  dependences 
will  much  consist  in  their  preserving  it  in  the  greatest  Repute  ; 
which  upon  the  least  violation,  by  those  who  are  ingaged  in 
the  management  and  trust  thereof,  will  be  utterly  lost,  and 
the  Bank  fall  to  the  Ground. 

The  Partners  aforesaid,  must  also  enter  into  and  oblige 
themselves  by  Covenants  to,  and  with  other  Persons  to  be 
called  Assessors  of  the  Bank,  and  Conservators  of  the  Con¬ 
stitution,  Rules  and  Instructions  to  be  observed  in  the 
management  thereof,  for  their  diligence  and  faithfulness,  in 
the  Discharge  and  Execution  of  their  respective  trusts,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  said  Constitution  :  and  inviolably  to  observe 
the  same,  and  all  the  Rules  thereof. 

[9]  The  said  Assessors  have  also  the  Oversight  and  Con- 
troll  of  the  whole  Affair:  To  see  the  same  be  so  managed: 
and  to  that  end  are  daily  to  inspect  the  Management  there¬ 
of  ;  and  that  the  said  Rules  be  duly  observed  on  both  parts, 


2l8 


Colonial  Currency 

viz .  as  well  on  the  part  of  the  persons  dealing  with  them,  as 
of  the  Managers  themselves,  in  every  branch  of  the  Bank, 
that  all  be  done  with  Justice  and  Impartiality  between  them  ; 
to  settle  differences,  in  case  any  happen :  and  in  the  absence 
of  the  Managers,  may  supply  that  defect,  by  their  Personal 
transacting  the  same  things,  or  allowing  others  as  their 
Deputies.  Also, 

•  Each  of  the  said  Partners  must  deposit  moneys  and  other 
Estate  in  the  Bank  as  a  Stock  or  Fund,  of  their  own ;  which 
be  a  further  Security  and  Obligation  upon  them,  for  their 
upright  dealings  ;  For  thereby  every  of  themselves  become 
Personally  Interested,  and  concerned  to  be  careful  in  every 
thing,  that  they  keep  the  Rules ;  and  all  Persons  concerned 
in  the  yearly  Profits  thereof  are  liable,  according  to  the 
Constitution,  to  answer  the  damages,  as  far  as  their  respec¬ 
tive  shares  thereof  extend. 

Of  the  fourth  Particular ,  viz.  The  necessary  Rules  to  be 

observed  in  this  Bank . 

I.  T N primis.  That  the  Partners  in  the  Management  of 
X  the  affairs  of  the  said  Bank  do  sit  in  some  con¬ 
venient  Place  of  the  chief  Trading  Town  of  each  Countrey, 
from  day  to  day,  and  [10]  at  such  hours  as  the  business  & 
occasions  thereof  shall  require;  to  receive  Proposals  from 
any  persons,  touching  their  having  such  Credit  as  they  shall 
desire ;  and  for  drawing  up  and  perfecting  such  Bank-bills, 
Mortgages,  Bills  of  Sale  and  Defezances  thereof,  as  Lands 
or  Goods  respectively  shall  require:  Also  for  giving  Informa¬ 
tion  and  Satisfaction  concerning  the  Security,  Benefits  and 
Advantages  accruing  thereby,  to  such  as  shall  desire  to  deal 
with  them  therein ;  and  to  take  Subscriptions  for  that  purpose. 


Reprint  2 1 9 

2.  Item ,  That  whatsoever  person  shall  propose  to  Mort¬ 
gage  or  Deposit  any  staple  Goods  or  Merchandizes,  Lands, 
Tenements  or  Hereditaments  of  a  clear  and  good  Title,  to 
the  said  Partnership,  may  have  such  &  so  many  Bills  deliv¬ 
ered  to  him  as  shall  amount  to  about  the  Value  or  Sum  of 
one  half,  or  two  thirds  of  the  said  Estates ;  or  more  or  less, 
according  as  his  Occasions  shall  require,  and  the  nature  of 
the  Depositors  security  will  admit.  Paying  for  the  use  of 
the  said  Bills,  after  the  rate  of  Four  Pounds  per  Cent,  per 
Annum,  in  like  Bills,  at  the  end  of  every  Si^  Months,  for  so 
long  time  as  he  and  they  shall  agree  for  the  same. 

3.  Item,  That  if  at  the  Expiration  of  the  Term  agreed  for, 
the  Mortgager  or  Depositor  shall  desire  the  continuance 
thereof,  for  such  further  time  as  the  Partnership  shall  judge 
the  nature  thereof  will  admit,  the  same  shall  be  allowed  upon 
the  same  Terms;  and  if  any  person  shall  desire  to  redeem 
them  sooner  than  the  time  agreed  on,  he  shall  have  liberty 
so  to  do,  paying  only  for  such  [XI]  time  as  they  continue 
deposited  or  unredeemed.  And  shall  be  allowed  to  pay  in 
any  even  Sums  (not  being  under  Ten  Pounds)  in  part  there¬ 
of,  if  he  shall  think  fit  so  to  do,  to  lessen  his  Debt  and 
Charges. 

4.  Item ,  That  the  Redemption  thereof  be  by  Bank  Bills 
of  Credit,  or  such  other  Deposits  as  the  Partnership  shall 
approve  of.  But  if  by  Moneys  in  Specie,  that  there  be  an 
Addition  of  Forty  Shillings  more  in  every  Hundred  Pounds 
paid  in  Money,  than  in  the  said  Bills:  For  they  desire  not 
the  ingrossing  of  Coyn,  or  streightning  mens  Occasions 
thereby. 

5.  Item ,  That  if  it  shall  happen  that  any  Payments  shall 
be  paid  in  ready  Money,  such  persons  as  having  any  of  the 


220  Colonial  Currency 

said  Bills  in  their  hands,  which  they  would  have  Exchanged 
to  answer  their  occasions  for  Money,  and  shall  seasonably 
desire  the  same,  shall  be  accommodated  therewith,  upon  the 
delivery  up  of  Bills  to  such  Value. 

6.  Item ,  That  there  be  One  or  more  persons  allowed  by 
the  Partnership,  in  the  nature  of  Merchant-brokers,  to  Cor¬ 
respond  between  the  persons  who  have,  &  who  want  Moneys, 
&  Bills  respectively,  to  assist  their  respective  Occasions. 

7.  Item ,  That  if  any  person  shall  not  Redeem  his  Pledge, 
or  Pay  his  Interest  at  the  respective  times  agreed  on  (being 
of  Goods  or  Personal  Estate,  the  continuance  whereof  may 
be  hazardous)  the  Partnership,  giving  Notice  thereof,  may 
Sell  the  same  at  the  best  Rates  they  can  get,  either  in 

-ready  Money,  or  Bank-bills,  rendring  the  overplus  to  the 
Depositor. 

[12]  8.  Item,  That  if  any  Person  be  Rob’d  of,  or  lose  any 
Bill  or  Bills,  by  accidents  of  Fire,  Water  or  otherwise ;  he 
may  have  them  renewed,  if  he  forthwith  apply  to  the  Part¬ 
nership,  and  make  a  voluntary  Oath  thereof,  before  a  Magis¬ 
trate,  expressing  the  Number,  Value,  and  Date  of  each  Bill 
or  Bills ;  and  securing  the  Partnership  against  all  after 
demands  for  the  same  bills  :  It  appearing  by  the  Bank-books 
that  such  Bill  or  Bills  were  issued  thereout,  and  have  not 
been  returned. 

9.  Item ,  That  all  Bank  Bills  of  Credit  be  Signed  by  two 
or  more  of  the  said  Partners,  (whereof  one  to  be  a  principal 
Manager)  who  are  thereby  held,  to  oblige  themselves,  and 
all  and  every  their  Partners  of  the  said  Bank,  to  accept 
the  same  for  so  much  Currant  Moneys  as  shall  be  in  them 
respectively  mentioned,  in  Payment,  for  Redemption  or 
Purchase  of  any  Estate  in  the  said  Bank,  according  to 


221 


Reprint 

the  Rules  thereof:  and  that  all  such  Bills  be  duly  entred, 
in  Books  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose,  and  the  Indented 
Counter-part  thereof  filed,  before  the  same  be  issued. 

10.  Item ,  That  all  Goods  deposited,  be  laid  up  and  stored 
in  such  safe  and  convenient  Rooms,  Ware-houses  or  Cellars, 
Yards  or  Docks  respectively ;  for  preventing  damage  of 
Weather,  Robbery,  Imbezlement,  Fire,  Water,  or  Vermin 
of  any  kind,  whereby  they  may  be  impaired,  and  be  under 
such  custody  &  continual  care,  as  will  probably  render  them 
more  safe  than  in  any  Persons  particular  Custody,  or  Ware¬ 
house. 

11.  Item,  That  the  Charge  of  Ware-house  room  [13]  be 
reasonable,  with  respect  to  the  bulkiness  or  value  of  the 
Deposit ;  and  be  agreed  upon  between  the  Parties  to,  and 
inserted  in,  each  Contract.  In  which  respect  it  will  be  easier 
to  many,  than  to  hire  Ware-houses  of  their  own. 

12.  Item ,  That  all  Persons  having  any  Deposits  in  Bank- 
ware-houses,  &c.,  may  have  liberty,  at  seasonable  hours,  and 
in  the  presence  of  known  Persons,  to  be  intrusted  for  that 
purpose,  to  view  their  Goods,  that  they  be  not  imbezled,  or 
dampnified,  and  to  provide  against  the  same :  Also  to  shew 
them  to  their  Chapmen  ;  and  shall  be  assisted  therein  by 
the  Romagers  or  Porters  imployed  by  the  Partnership. 

13.  Item ,  That  in  case  the  Creditors  of  this  Bank  shall 
agree  to  desire,  and  accordingly  Declare  in  Writing,  That 
there  be  a  Determination  put  thereto :  Or  if  on  any  other 
account  whatsoever,  the  Determination  thereof  shall  be 
judged  necessary,  by  the  Proposers  and  Managers  of  this 
Bank,  and  so  declared  in  Writing  (which  cannot  be  without 
allowance  and  ascertaining  of  a  reasonable  Time  betwixt  the 
said  Creditors  and  Partnership  for  closing  up  the  same,  and 


222 


Colonial  Currency 

the  Accompts  thereof,  so  as  may  be  without  damage  to  any 
or  either  of  them :)  That,  as  no  Person  is  or  shall  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  accept  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  unless  he  shall  volun¬ 
tarily  agree  so  to  do,  and  for  no  longer  time,  nor  otherwise 
than  he  shall  so  consent :  So,  no  man  paying  his  prcemium 
and  charges  aforesaid,  for  the  Credit  he  hath,  shall  be  com- 
pell’d  to  Redeem  his  Pledge,  being  of  Personal  Estate,  [14] 
sooner  than  the  time  contracted  for,  and  the  nature  of  the 
Deposit  shall  require:  And  to  the  end  the  Mortgagor  of 
Lands,  of  unquestionable  good  Title,  may  not  be  distressed, 
to  his  undoing,  in  case  he  should,  by  reason  of  such  Declara¬ 
tion,  be  suddenly  call’d  upon  to  Redeem  the  same,  (which 
may  be  impossible  for  him  to  do  in  some  Years,  thro’  the 
scarcity  of  Moneys),  That  all  and  every  Mortgager  of  Lands, 
in  such  case,  shall  or  may  have  &  take  Six  Years  Time,  from 
&  after  such  Declaration  aforesaid,  to  be  allowed  unto  him, 
his  Heirs  and  Assigns,  for  Redemption  of  his  Lands;  he 
or  they  paying  after  the  rate  of  Six  Pounds  per  Cent .  per 
Annum,  in  ready  Moneys,  at  the  end  of  every  Six  Months, 
for  the  continuance  of  the  Credit  he  had  thereupon,  from 
such  Time  as  the  said  Declaration  shall  be  perfected,  until 
he  shall  Redeem  the  same :  And  that  the  Partners  of  this 
Bank  shall  or  may  have  and  take  one  full  Years  time  more, 
from  the  Expiration  of  the  said  Six  Years,  to  be  allowed 
unto  them,  for  Selling  the  said  Lands,  or  such  of  them  as 
shall  not,  within  the  said  Six  Years,  be  Redeemed  ;  whereby 
they  may  be  inabled  to  Receive  in,  and  Exchange  all  Bank- 
bills  then  granted  forth,  into  the  now  current  Coyn  or 
Moneys  of  this  Countrey,  or  other  Moneys,  being  not  of  the 
more  intrinsique  Value  than  what  now  passes  :  Or  otherwise 
satisfie  for  the  same  by  such  proportions  of  the  said  remain- 


223 


Reprint 


ing  Lands  or  other  Effects,  as  shall  be  judged  to  be  of  equal 
Value  :  Paying  to  all  the  Creditors  who  shall  then  have  any 
[15]  Bills  in  their  hands,  after  the  same  rate  of  Interest  for 
so  long  time,  after  Publishing  the  said  Declaration,  as  the 
said  Bills  shall  remain  in  the  said  Creditors  hands  Unoccu¬ 
pied  ;  with  Deduction  &  Allowance  only  of  the  Prcemium 
contracted  for,  as  aforesaid;  and  that  such  Bank-bills,  as 
before  such  Declaration  made,  have  been  given  forth,  upon 
the  Real  or  Personal  Securities  aforementioned  which  remain 
in  the  Possession  of  the  said  Bank,  may  &  shall  be  esteemed, 
&  pass  as  current  Moneys,  of  the  Value  of  the  present  Coyn, 
in  all  Receipts  &  Payments  whatsoever,  during  the  said 
Term. 

14.  Item ,  That  the  foregoing  Rules  be  attended  and  ob¬ 
served  by  all  &  singular  Persons  concerned  therein,  and  who 
shall  propose  to  deal  with,  and  accept  the  Bills  of  Credit 
issued  by  the  Managers  of  the  said  Bank  of  Credit,  Lum- 
bard  &  Exchange  of  Moneys  proposed  to  be  erected  in  any 
Place,  and  managed  by  persons  in  Partnership,  as  other 
Merchantly  affairs. 


Of  the  fifth  Particular ,  viz.  The  Particular  Advantages 
of  such  Persons  as  shall  voluntarily  deal  with  the  said 
Partners ,  in  these  affairs  ;  which  will  appear  in  several 
Instances . 

First  Instance . 


A  Country  Chapman  hath  Lands,  suppose  worth  to  be 
sold  for  400/.  and  being  willing  to  inlarge  his  Trade 
&  Dealings,  or  make  Improvement  on  his  Lands ,  as  far  as 
his  estate  will  inable  him.  Or  having  brought  Goods,  which 
he  is  indebted,  &  [16]  cannot  otherwise  pay  for,  he  Mort- 


224 


Colonial  Currency 

gages  his  Land  to  the  Partnership  for  200  /.  more  or  less ; 
and  thereupon  receives  several  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  for  200  /. 
&c.  of  several  Values  from  Twenty  shillings,  and  so  upwards, 
to  answer  his  Occasions. 

With  these  he  buyes  such  Goods  as  he  pleases,  or  pays 
his  Debts  for  what  he  formerly  bought  of  the  Whole-sale 
Shop-keeper,  or  Ware-house-keeper,  in  such  Town  or  Towns 
of  Trade  as  shall  fall  into  this  way  of  Dealing;  and,  having 
Bank-bills  to  deliver  for  them,  which  are  of  better  Value  by 
40  s.  in  the  100/.  than  Moneys,  with  this  Society,  as  is  herein 
evinced ;  he  buyes  much  Cheaper  than  he  could  upon  his 
own  Credit,  or  with  Moneys  in  Specie. 

The  Shop-keeper  goes  to  the  Merchant,  who  thus  agrees, 
and  buyes  of  him  other  Goods,  with  the  same  or  other  like 
Bills ;  wherein  he  reaps  the  same  advantage  as  he  gave  his 
Chapman. 

The  Merchant  buyes  Corn,  Beef,  Pork,  Fish,  Hops,  Lum¬ 
ber,  Pitch,  Tarr,  Rozin,  Skins,  Furs,  or  any  other  of  the 
Countreys  Products  or  Manufactures,  of  the  Husbandman, 
Grazier,  Artificer,  or  Maker  thereof. 

The  Husbandman,  &c.  If  a  Farmer  of  Lands,  pays  his 
Rent,  and  purchases  more  young  Cattel  of  his  Neighbour, 
for  Breed  or  Fatting.  Or, 

If  an  Owner  of  Land,  and  hath  not  sufficient  Stock  to 
improve  it,  he  also  Mortgages  his  Land,  and  has  Credit  to 
furnish  himself.  Or, 

If  he  hath  sufficient  Stock,  and  perhaps  more  than  his 
present  farm  can  maintain,  he  hath  his  eye  upon  a  Neigh¬ 
bouring  Farm,  or  piece  of  Land  [17]  that  would  be  Sold ;  he 
Mortgages  his  own  Land  in  the  Bank,  and  hath  Credit  to 
buy  the  other. 


225 


Reprint 

If  then  he  wants  Stock,  he  may  also  Mortgage  the  Farm 
or  piece  of  Land  last  purchased ;  and  have  Credit  to  inable 
him  fully  to  Improve  and  Stock  both,  Whereby  he  doubles 
his  Yearly  advantages,  and  if  he  can  then  content  himself  to 
live  as  frugally,  &  be  as  industrious  as  before,  he  may  soon 
compass  to  pay  off  his  Debt,  &  redeem  his  Land.  Or,  he 
may  continue  the  Credit  he  had,  and  take  out  more  upon 
the  Additional  improvement;  and  thus  increase  his  Pur¬ 
chases  and  Estates,  as  long  as  such  an  help  is  afforded. 

Second  Instance . 

The  like  may  be  done  for  carrying  on  the  opening  & 
working  in  any  Mines,  Minerals  or  Quarreys  of  Stone,  Lead, 
Tin,  Iron,  Copper,  & c.  thus,  viz .  The  Mine  &  Lands  wherein 
the  same  is,  i$ay  be  Mortgaged  as  aforesaid,  to  supply  the 
Owner  thereof  with  Bills  of  Credit,  for  paying  his  Work¬ 
men,  in  any  Sum  of  Twenty  Shillings ,  or  above. 

As  fast  as  any  of  these  Metals,  &c.  are  wrought  fit  for 
Sale,  if  a  Chapman  be  wanting,  the  Metal  may  be  brought 
into  the  Bank,  and  the  Owner  receive  Bank-bills  to  the  value 
of  about  two  thirds  thereof,  as  aforesaid,  to  enable  him  to 
proceed  on  his  Works :  And  the  Metal  lying  in  Bank  is 
there  readier  for  a  Market  than  elsewhere,  in  his  own  Private- 
house  or  Ware-house,  at  very  reasonable  rates  for  lying 
there,  and  may  with  allowance  of  the  owner,  be  sold  in  his 
absence,  by  the  Merchant-broker  before  mentioned,  at  such 
current  rates  [18]  as  he  shall  set,  &  he  become  Creditor  for 
so  much  to  be  discompted  or  paid  him,  whensoever  he  shall 
call  for  it. 

VOL.  I  —  15 


226 


Colonial  Currency 


Third  Instance . 

A  Weaver  of  Cloth,  Serge,  or  Linen,  &c.  is  imployed  in 
any  Work-house  erected,  or  to  be  erected,  to  carry  on  those 
respective  Manufactures :  Also  other  Manufacturers,  and 
Artificers,  in  Rope-making,  Cables,  Rigging,  Sails,  Anchors, 
or  any  other  Materials  for  the  Fishing-trade,  Merchants,  or 
building  of  Ships,  &c. 

The  owner  of  such  Work-house,  or  Materials  respectively, 
consents  to  Mortgage  the  same,  for  One  or  Two  Hundred 
Pounds ,  more  or  less,  in  Bank-bills,  as  the  Work  shall  re¬ 
quire,  and  the  Value  of  the  House  or  the  Materials  will 
admit. 

With  these  Bills,  the  Work-master  or  Overseer,  buyes 
Wooll,  Worsted,  Yarn,  Hemp,  Flax,  Dying-stuffs,  Iron, 
Timber,  Lumber,  &c.  of  the  Merchant,  Ware-house-keeper, 
Countrey-man,  or  other  Seller;  and  finishes  40,  60,  or  100, 
pieces,  &c.  more  or  less  of  any  of  the  said  Commodities; 
which  when  wrought  up  for  a  Market ;  if  he  want  a  Chap¬ 
man,  he  brings  into  the  Bank  Ware-houses,  as  aforesaid;  or 
such  Yards,  Docks,  or  other  Places,  as  they  shall  appoint  or 
agree:  Takes  up  new  Credit  upon  them,  and  leaves  them 
there  to  be  Sold,  at  his  own  rates,  as  aforesaid.  Or, 

A  considerable  parcel  of  Wooll,  Cotton,  Yarn,  Flax,  Hemp, 
Oyl,  Dying-stuffs,  or  other  Goods  for  his  use,  are  offer’d  to 
Sale;  he  may  pay  one  third  thereof  by  his  Wrought-up- 
goods  Unsold,  and  bringing  these  Commodities  into  the 
Bank,  [19]  may  receive  Bills  of  Credit  for  paying  the  other 
two  thirds ;  which  he  may  take  out,  in  parcels,  as  he  brings 
in  any  new  wrought  up  Goods,  or  hath  occasion  to  use  them 
for  working  up  more ;  and  the  Bank- ware-houses  will  be  to 


227 


Reprint 

4 

him  as  Black-well  Hall ’  &c.  in  London  to  the  Clothiers,  to 
assist  his  sale  of  them  without  his  trouble :  For  thither  will 
all  Merchants  have  incouragement  to  come,  to  seek  supplies 
for  Transportation,  &  find  Goods  always  ready.  Other  in¬ 
stances  might  be  multiplied,  but  by  these  it  appears, 

1.  That  the  Manufacturer,  &c.  loses  no  time  in  looking 
out  a  Chapman. 

2.  Is  always  furnish’d  with  Credit  to  buy  his  Materials  at 
the  best  hand. 

3.  The  Merchant  never  trusts,  nor  Ware-house  keeper: 
Or,  if  he  do,  the  plenty  of  Bills  expedits  his  Chapmans  Sale, 
and  consequently  his  Payments.  Whereby, 

4.  He  has  incouragement  &  stock  presently  to  look  out 
for  more  of  the  same,  or  other  useful  Merchandizes. 

5.  Sends  forth  the  said  Metals,  Clothes,  Stuffs,  Linen,  &c. 
amongst  other  Merchandizes  of  the  Product  of  his  Countrey, 
or  Imported. 

6.  Makes  return  of  Bullion,  Moneys,  or  other  useful  Goods, 
which  are  presently  bought  off  with  Bank-bills.  Or, 

7.  He  may  store  them  up  in  Bank  Ware-houses,  and  re¬ 
ceive  present  Credit,  wherewith  to  send  out  again.  And, 

8.  Thereby  be  inabled  (at  least)  to  double,  or  [20]  treble 
his  yearly  dealings,  and  receive  proportionable  advantages. 
This, 

1.  Increases  &  quickens  Merchandizing  and  Trade. 

2.  Promotes  Shipping  &  Navigation.  Which, 

3.  Increases  the  Publick  Duties,  and  consequently  the 
Revenues. 

4.  Imploys  the  Poor  in  the  Minings  &  Manufactures 
’forementioned. 

5.  They  get  Moneys  by  these  Imployments. 


228 


Colonial  Currency 

6.  That  inables  them  to  buy  up  all  necessaries  for  Cloath- 
ing,  Victuals,  paying  of  Debts,  &c. 

7.  This  helps  the  Consumption  of,  as  well  their  own  Com¬ 
modities,  as  other  imported  Goods  and  Merchandizes:  for 
no  Man,  that  hath  wherewith  to  buy,  will  go  naked  or  be 
hungry,  &c. 

8.  This  helps  to  civilize  the  Ruder  sort  of  People ;  and 
incourages  others  to  follow  their  Example  in  Industry  and 
Civility. 

9.  Thus  all  sorts  of  Persons  become  inabled  to  live  hand¬ 
somely,  &  out  of  Debt;  and  that  prevents  multiplicity  of 
Law-suits,  &  Troubles  to  the  Government:  but  none  of 
these  advantages  may  be  expected,  out  of  the  small  Pittance 
of  Cash,  that  now  is,  ever  was,  or  likely  will  be  in  any  Coun¬ 
trey,  unless  assisted  in  Trade,  &  inriched  by  the  help  this 
Bank  proposes.  And  so  we  pass  to  the  Consideration 

Of  the'  sixth  Particular ,  viz.  The  answering  some  few  of  the 
most  material  Pertinent  Queries ,  and  Objections  touching 
this  Bank ,  viz. 

Q .  1.  An  I  have  Monyes  for  Bank-bills,  when  I  have 

Occasion  ? 

[21]  Answ.  1.  ’Tis  not  propounded  to  be  a  Bank  of 
Moneys  (which  is  liable  to  inexpressible  &  unforeseen  haz¬ 
ards)  but  of  Credit  to  be  given  forth  by  Bills ;  not  on  Moneys 
advanced,  as  in  other  Banks ;  but  (on  Lands  or  Goods,  as 
aforesaid,)  to  supply  such  as  cannot  get  Moneys  (by  reason 
of  its  scarcity)  with  whatsoever  may  be  had  for  Moneys. 
Yet, 

Answ.  2.  As  oft  as  any  persons  Redeem  their  Lands,  or 
Goods,  they  must  do  it  in  Bank-bills,  or  with  Moneys.  If  in 


Reprint  229 

ready  Moneys,  the  Partnership  may  exchange  Bills  therewith, 
to  such  as  desire  it ;  as  is  afore  provided  by  the  Rules. 

Answ.  3.  However,  this  Bank  is  no  occasion  of  streight- 
ning  men  that  would  have  Moneys ;  but  leaves  them  free ; 
and  in  this  case,  the  Merchant-brokers  of  the  Bank  will  be 
helpful,  between  those  who  have  and  who  want  Moneys,  and 
Bills  respectively ;  as  is  likewise  aforementioned  in  the  said 
Rules.  But, 

Answ.  4.  If  it  be  made  to  appear  to  you,  that  others  who 
have  Moneys,  will  be  willing  to  change  your  Bank-bills  into 
those  Species  of  Gold  &  Silver,  &  thank  you  for  offering 
them  the  occasion  (tho’  the  Bank  Partnership  do  it  not) 
you’l  have  no  cause  to  decline  the  other  advantages  pro¬ 
posed  :  Especially  if  you  may  both  be  gainers  by  the  Ex¬ 
change.  Now,  if  I  ow’d  you  500  /.  to  be  paid  in  Silver, 
which  I  could  not  do,  but  should  propose  to  pay  you  in 
Gold,  at  the  intrinsique  Coyn’d  Value,  which  if  you  part 
with  again  will  yield  you  Five  Pound  profit,  or  more :  Would 
you  then  refuse  Gold  ? 

[22]  Obj.  But  how  will  you  apply  this ,  to  make  it  Credible  ? 

Sol.  Thus,  Whoever  hath  any  Payment  to  make  in  Bank, 
which  (in  probability  if  such  Bank  take  effect  in  any  Coun¬ 
trey)  will  be  every  man  that  deals  in  above  Twenty  Shillings 
at  a  time)  will  find,  that  we  must  pay  Forty  Shillings  more, 
in  every  Hundred  Pounds  of  ready  Money,  than  in  Bank- 
bills  of  Credit ;  as  per  the  forementioned  Rules  of  the  Bank) 
which  is  about  Five-pence  benefit  to  the  Exchanger,  in  every 
20.  s.  No  doubt  then  of  having  Moneys  (by  a  little  inquiry 
of  the  Merchant-broker)  at  the  Value  contained  in  the  Bills, 
of  all  such  as  must  redeem  their  Mortgages,  and  Deposits. 
But, 


230  Colonial  Currency 

Bills,  wherever  Banks  have  been  erected  (tho’  Money 
Banks)  have  always  been  of  better  Value  than  Moneys  in 
Specie.  Whereof  three  Reasons  may  be  given. 

(1.)  For  the  ease  of  Compting  and  Carriage;  and  pre¬ 
venting  damage  to  the  Receiver,  by  Counterfeit,  Clip’d,  Light 
or  Base  Coyn :  (Which  is  obvious  to  all.) 

(2.)  For  safety  in  Travelling,  Laying  up,  &c.  As  visible 
as  the  other. 

(3.)  For  the  advantage  that  is  to  be  made  by  the  Exchange, 
on  the  account  of  such  Conveniences.  Whereof  take  two 
Examples,  viz. 

(1.)  The  Bank-bills  of  Holland  are  ordinarily  better  than 
Moneys,  by  at  least  Three  Pounds  per  Cent.  And, 

(2.)  Those  in  Venice ,  by  Twenty  Pounds  per  Cent .  and 
Laws  made  there  to  keep  them  from  rising  [23]  higher;  for 
they  were  once  at  28./  per  Cent,  and  not  without  some 
difficulty  Reduced  to  Twenty ;  so  that  each  Bill  of  100  /.  is 
now  Current  at  120./. 

Obj.  But  how  is  that  Possible  or  Credible  ? 

Sol.  There  is  this  account  rendred  of  it  (which  has  con¬ 
firmation  by  many  other  Instances  that  might  be  given, 
concerning  the  current  Prices  of  many  Commodities,  which 
have  not  so  much  of  intrinsique  value  in  them,)  viz.  The 
State  of  Venice  propounded  the  Erecting  a  Bank  to  consist 
of  Two  Millions  of  Duckets'.  Accordingly  Moneys  were 
brought  in,  Bills  given  out  for  the  same  Value;  and  a  stop 
put  to  the  receiving,  or  giving  out  any  more  of  either. 

The  Usefulness  of  Bills  was  suddenly  found  to  be  such  in 
the  practice  and  imployment  of  them,  upon  the  three  fore- 
mentioned  Accounts,  that  every  Man,  at  one  time  or  other, 
found  his  Affairs  required  them :  So,  that  at  first,  such  Bills 


231 


Reprint 

would  not  be  parted  with  for  Money,  under  Ten  Shillings  per 
Hundred  Pounds ;  And  no  sooner  was  that  become  the 
Current  Rate,  but  they  were  successively  raised  by  Ten 
Shillings  at  a  time,  till  they  came  to  be  in  every  ones  Esti¬ 
mation,  2 %.l  per  Cent .  better  than  Moneys  in  Specie;  and  so 
pass’d  accordingly.  Whereupon, 

The  State  of  Venice  enacted  several  Laws  against  their 
passing  so  high :  which  failing  to  accomplish  what  was  re¬ 
quired,  at  length  they  conceived  it  necessary,  in  order  to  the 
bringing  down  the  Price,  to  propose  the  giving  forth  Bills 
for  Three  Hundred  Thousand  Duckets  more :  By  which 
means  they  [24]  brought  it  back  to  Twenty  Pounds  per  Cent . 
(which  pleased  the  People)  and  there  fixt  it,  as  to  its  rising 
higher  afterwards,  by  a  severe  Law ;  since  when,  it  stands  so 
to  this  Day:  And  this  is  no  more  than  what  is  familiar  in 
the  Price  of  other  things,  viz.  Diamonds,  Rubies,  Pearls, 
Horses,  Pictures,  &c.  which  have  their  Estimation  from  the 
various  Pleasures  and  Fancies  of  Men,  &c. 

And,  if  it  be  demanded,  what  induced,  that  State  to  allow 
it  so  high  ? 

The  Answer  is  easie,  viz.  The  State  of  Venice  had  made 
use  of  the  Moneys  deposited,  in  their  Publick  Occasions 
(where  observe  the  hazard  of  a  Money*  Bank)  and,  having 
promised  for  Satisfaction  of  Creditors,  to  raise  the  like  Sum, 
if  they  should  have  occasion  for  it,  reap  this  advantage,  of 
their  Peoples  high  Opinion  of  Bills,  that,  they  are  thereby 
assured,  that  never,  will  any  Creditor  come  to  ask  them  ioo  l. 
for  a  Bill  of  ioo  l.  when  he  may  have  120  l.  from  any  other 
hand.  A  notable  way  to  pay  a  vast  Debt.  But,  by  means 
hereof,  the  Creditor  has  no  other  Fund  or  Security  but  the 
States  Word  :  For,  there  is  not  one  Ducket  for  them  in  Bank. 


232 


Colonial  Currency 

Q.  2.  My  Lands  or  Goods  are  ah'eady  Mortgaged  for 
Moneys ,  at  a  higher  Rate  of  Interest ;  and  the  Mortgagee  will 
not  take  Bills .  Can  such  a  Bank  help  me  ? 

A  ns.  There  may  be  Persons,  of  whom  you  may  be  in¬ 
formed  at  the  Bank,  who  will  advise  &  assist  you  therein: 
If  there  be  Moneys  in  the  Countrey  to  be  had. 

Q.  3.  I  have  neither  Lands  nor  Goods ,  but  a  Trade ,  by 
[25]  which  I  could  live  comfortably  if  I  had  a  small  Stock  ; 
and  I  could  afford  to  give  a  greater  Interest ,  and  have  Friends 
that  would  help  me  too ,  upon  my  own  Bond:  But  they  have  not 
Moneys.  Which  way  shall  I  be  help'd? 

A  ns.  If  your  Friends  have  Lands  or  goods,  they  may 
have  these  Bank-bills  of  Credit,  at  Four  Pounds  per  Cent, 
per  Annum ,  to  Lend  you  at  such  Rates  as  you  can  agree: 
Whereby  they  also  may  be  gainers,  and  have  incouragement 
to  help  you. 

Much  more  might  be  said  upon  this  Subject,  but  these 
seem  to  be  sufficient,  for  incouraging  an  attempt:  And,  the 
experiments  of  the  things  suggested  will  give  such  clear 
Demonstrations  of  the  Usefulness,  Advantage,  Necessity  & 
Security  of  such  Banks,  in  most  places,  beyond  all  others  that 
have  been  hitherto  put  in  practice,  as  those  who  are  not  so 
prompt  to  receive  things  into  their  understandings  by  the 
Notions  of  them,  or  are  prejudiced  by  mistaken  apprehen¬ 
sions  about  them,  &  thence  raise  many  impertinent  Objections 
(not  worth  scribling)  may  be  presumed  will  follow  others 
Examples,  in  well-doing,  when  those  are  observed  to  thrive 
who  go  before  therein. 

We  shall  therefore ,  for  the  Conclusion ,  which  is  the  last 
Particular  mentioned ,  to  be  Discoursed \  Sum  up  all \  in  this 
general  Assertion ,  viz. 


233 


Reprint 


Hat  there  will  arise  many  more  Convienences  &  Advan- 


JL  tages,  by  this  Bank,  to  such  Countreys  where  they 
shall  be  erected,  than  have  been  enumerated,  in  the  several 
foregoing  instances;  or,  well,  can  be. 

[26]  i.  By  this,  the  Trade  &  Wealth  of  any  Country  is 
establish’d  upon  its  own  Foundation  ;  and  upon  a  Medium  or 
Balance  arising  within  it  self,  viz.  The  Lands  &  Products 
of  such  Countrey,  &  not  upon  the  Importation  of  Gold  or 
Silver;  or  the  Scarcity  or  Plenty  of  them,  or,  of  any  thing 
else  Imported  from  Foreign  Nations,  which  may  be  with-held, 
prohibited,  or  enhansed,  at  the  Pleasure  of  others. 

2.  The  Native  Commodities  of  such  Countrys  will  thus 
become  improved  to  a  sufficiency  (at  least)  for  their  own 
Use  ;  and  thereby  afford  a  comfortable  Subsistence  to  many 
ingenuous  &  industrious  Persons,  in  such  Countrys,  who 
know  not  how  to  Subsist :  Especially  such  as  are  Banish’d, 
or  inforced  to  forsake  their  Native  Countrys,  by  reason  of  the 
heat  of  Persecution,  upon  the  account  of  Religion. 

3.  It  will  not  be  in  the  Power  of  any,  by  Extortion  & 
Oppression,  to  make  a  Prey  of  the  Necessitous. 

4.  The  Fishery  of  such  Countrys,' as  lye  convenient  for  it, 
may  be  improved  :  and  the  Navigation  &  Shipping  increased, 
for  Use  or  Sale. 

5.  The  Publick  Revenues  thereof,  in  consequence  of  these, 
will  be  augmented. 

6.  The  rents  of  Lands,  yea,  the  Purchase  value  thereof, 
will  rise:  For,  the  Plenty  of  Money,  or  a  valuable  Credit 
equivalent  thereunto,  &  the  Lowering  of  Interest,  must 
necessarily  have  that  effect. 

7.  It  will  supply  the  defect  or  scarcity  of  Moneys  in 
Specie,  until  by  the  setling  of  Manufactures ,  &c.  (which 


234 


Colonial  Currency 

this  Bank  proposes)  the  Products  of  such  Countrey  for 
Exportation  shall  come  to  Balance  or  Exceed  the  value  of 
it’s  Importations ;  [27]  which  afterwards  will  necessitate  the 
bringing  in  of  Moneys,  as  fast  as  the  want  thereof  hath  car¬ 
ried  it  away.  For,  the  true  ground  of  the  Plenty  or  Scarcity 
of  Moneys  in  any  Countrey,  is  not  the  high  or  low  Value  of 
the  Money  (as  some  erroneously  conceive)  but,  that  the  Value 
of  Goods  Imported  from  other  parts  hath  been  greater  than 
of  the  Export.  The  Balance  whereof  must  necessarily  be 
answer’d  with  Moneys,  &  for  the  same  Reason,  Revers’d, 
the  Export  of  Goods  when  bro’t  to  exceed  the  value  of  the 
Import,  must,  as  necessarily  bring  it  back  again  to  such  pro¬ 
portion  as  the  Export  can  be  raised.  And  whatsoever  other 
means  may  be  suggested  for  furnishing  of  Moneys,  must  be 
fruitless,  for,  there  will  abide  no  more  than  such  proportion  ; 
let  what  Value  will  be  put  on  Moneys  above  the  Currant 
Price  thereof  in  other  Countrys  with  whom  they  shall  Trade ; 
which  may  be  further  Evidenced,  if  this  hint  thereof  be  not 
sufficiently  intelligible.  To  which  may  be  added,  That  the 
less  need  there  is  of  Moneys  in  Specie,  by  reason  of  such 
Currant  Credit,  the  more  will  be  the  increase  of  Money 
it  self ;  as  is  manifest  in  Holland,  Venice ,  &  all  Places  where 
Bank-credit  supplies  the  defect  of  those  species;  least,  the 
Money  that  remains  in  such  Countreys,  will  be  at  greater 
liberty  for  such  petty  occasions  as  cannot  be  so  well 
accommodated  by  Bills. 

In  Order  therefore,  &  as  Praevious  to  the  Entring  upon 
such  an  Affair,  ’tis  requisite  that  other  Queries  be  Pro¬ 
pounded  and  Resolved,  viz. 

Q.  4.  How  shall  it  come  to  be  known  whether  a  sufficient 
number  of  Persons,  of  all  Ranks,  Trades,  [28]  and  Callings , 


Reprint  235 

will  deal  with  this  Bank  ?  The  reasons  of  which  Inquiry 
are  these,  viz. 

(1.)  It  will  be  of  use  to  the  undertakers  of  such  Bank  to 
know  it,  for  their  incouragement  in  their  entrance  upon  this 
affair.  And, 

(2.)  To  such  others  as  would  take  the  Bills,  if  they  were 
satisfied  they  could  buy  such  Goods,  &c.  as  they  want,  with 
Bills,  at  as  easie  rates,  as  if  they  had  ready  Moneys  to  give. 

Answ.  1.  It  will  be  requisite,  that  a  short  Declaration  be 
tendred  to  be  Subscribed  by  some  Persons  of  all  Ranks, 
Trades  &  Callings;  signifying  that  they  will  accept  the  said 
Bank-bills  of  Credit,  in  their  ordinary  future  dealings  of  Buy¬ 
ing  &  Selling,  or  other  Traffiquing  affairs,  whereupon  they 
are  to  receive  Moneys,  for  so  much  ready  Moneys  as  shall 
be  in  such  Bills  mentioned,  upon  the  Terms  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  Rules  of  the  Bank:  Saving  to  every  man  his 
Specialties,  &  particular  Contracts. 

A  ns.  2.  That  such  as  shall  so  declare  themselves,  by 
Subscription  (or  otherwise)  may  be  put  into  Alphabetical 
Lists,  and,  such  as  take  forth  Bills  may  be  informed  of  the 
Names  of  the  said  respective  Persons,  their  Trades  or  Call¬ 
ings,  and  Places  of  Habitation.  But, 

Q.  5.  It  may  be  further  inquired,  viz.  What  if  some  sorts 
of  Persons  requisite  for  a  universal  Circulation  of  Bills , 
will  not ,  in  all  cases ,  ingage  to  accept  Bank-bills :  but  some 
will  wholly  Refuse  them ,  &  Cry  up  Moneys  inhansd  to  a 
higher  Rate  than  they  pass  at  in  other  Coun treys,  &c.  Others 
will  be  for  either ,  or  both ,  as  they  find  it  for  their  Advantage , 
&c. 

[29]  Answ.  Its  not  necessary  that  all  should,  in  all  cases, 
oblige  themselves  to  Bills,  as  long  as  there  is  Moneys  to  be 


236  Colonial  Currency 

had:  But  if  there  be  not  a  sufficiency  of  that  for  carrying 
on  of  Trade,  &c.  as,  this  Bank  hinders  not  the  Currency  of 
Moneys,  but  that  may  be  imployed  as  far  as  it  will  go,  (which, 
for  the  most  part,  during  the  Scarcity  of  it,  will  be  in  small 
dealings),  so,  the  Bills  will  be  found  useful  to  supply  the 
defect.  The  needful  proportion  whereof  will  soon  be  under¬ 
stood  ;  and  each  Person  will  cast  his  Business,  and  make  his 
Contracts  accordingly :  And  consequently,  this  need  not 
hinder,  or  discourage  the  attempt ;  if  there  be  a  competent 
number  of  each,  or  most  sorts,  that  cannot  otherwise,  deal 
as  they  would. 

Q.  6.  And,  if  any  shall  inquire,  What  Number  of  Merchants 
and  other  Tradesmen  may  be  sufficient  {at  first  erecting  such 
a  Bank)  to  assist  a  Circulation  of  Bills  in  Trade ,  in  case  some 
should \  not  only  withdraw  from ,  but ,  obstruct ,  &  misrepresent 
the  Affair ,  or  Persons  managing  it,  as  not  having  the  Pub - 
lick  Approbation ,  or  Sanction  of  the  Authority  of  a  Countrey , 
which  they  may  suggest  to  be  necessary  ?  It’s  Answered, 

Answ.  1.  A  few  Merchants  in  any  Countrey  who  are 
general  Traders  (by  the  help  this  Bank  proposes,  in  the 
foregoing  Instances,)  may  be  sufficient  to  give  encourage¬ 
ment  for  the  Entrance  upon  this  Affair ;  and  so  many  Shop¬ 
keepers,  Artificers,  &c.  as  must  and  will  deal  with  them. 

For, 

Answ.  2.  It  may  reasonably  be  presumed,  that,  many,  in 
the  practice  of  the  thing  will  appre-[30]hend  the  necessity, 
usefulness,  and  security  thereof,  who  cannot  easily  take  it  up 
in  the  Notion,  or  by  Discourse:  and  that  such  will  come  in 
by  Degrees :  for,  if,  (being  Merchants)  they  stand  out,  such 
of  their  Chap-men  as  shall  find  it  their  interest  to  sell 
for  Bills,  must  buy  again  of  others  who  will  take  them  in 


Note 


237 


payment;  and  finding  themselves  well  used  by  such,  will 
hardly  return  where  they  have  been  refused :  and,  if  of  other 
Professions  they  must  either  Sell  little,  or  do  it  on  Trust,  or 
wait  for  payment  till  moneys  grow  more  plentiful ;  whitest 
others  carry  away  the  whole  Trading  among  them. 

Ans.  3.  This  part  of  the  Merchants  Calling,  is,  in  every 
respect  as  Free  and  Lawfull  for  any  to  undertake,  and  needs 
no  more  of  Publick  Encouragement  or  Countenance,  than 
that  part  of  buying  and  selling  (at  home  or  abroad)  with  or 
for  ready  Money,  Time,  or  Barter,  which  they  better  under¬ 
stand  &  practise.  And  the  Managers  hereof  may  as  well 
expect  a  Benefit  by  it  as  the  others :  Forasmuch  as  it  will 
no  less  take  up  their  time  to  attend ;  and  will  be  an  improv¬ 
ing  the  Trade  of  any  Countrey,  no  less  than  the  other:  And 
lastly,  has  its  Hazards  attending  it ;  for  the  Profits  accruing 
thereby,  are,  in  the  first  place  assigned,  by  the  Constitution 
and  Rules  thereof,  for  making  good  all  Losses  &  Damages 
that  may  happen,  in  the  Management  of  this  Affair. 

De  te  Narratur ,  N.  A. 

FINIS. 


NOTE  TO  THE  BOSTON  REPRINT,  1714,  OF  “A  MODEL  FOR 
ERECTING  A  BANK  OF  CREDIT,”  etc.  LONDON,  1688. 

The  reprint  follows  the  original  so  closely  that  it  requires  careful 
scrutiny  to  detect  the  differences  between  the  two.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  we  have  here  in  pages  7  and  8,  and  in  pages 
13  and  14,  the  original  text  of  the  London  edition  of  the  “  Model,” 
etc.  A  comparison  of  these  pages  with  the  corresponding  pages 
in  the  London  edition  will  show  how  insignificant  were  the 
changes  made  in  the  inserted  leaves.  This  volume,  while  it  has  a 


238  Colonial  Currency 

Boston  preface,  lacks  the  touch  with  the  political  issues  in  the  days 
of  Andros  derived  from  the  added  appendix  in  the  copy  of  the 
London  “  Model,”  etc.,  heretofore  printed. 

The  form  of  bank  proposed  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  to 
be  found  in  the  Blackwell  prospectus ;  but  it  is  stated  in  the  preface 
that  the  projectors  in  reprinting  this  simply  put  it  forth  as  being  of 
much  the  same  nature  as  their  project,  though  not  in  reality  on  so 
solid  a  foundation. 

The  copy  and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were  originally  pro¬ 
cured  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society1 
for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc. 

1  The  pamphlet  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  the  John  Carter 
Brown  Library,  and  the  Library  of  Congress. 


,  •• '  "  ■■  ■'*' 


Better  is  a  little  with  Right eo 
great  Revenues  without  Right 


BOSTON :  * 

Printed  by  T.  Fleet ,  in  Pudding-La?^ 
near  King-- Street.  1714..  , 


Objections 

TO  THE 

^attfcofCrrtitt 

Lately  Projected  at 

BOSTON. 

Being  a  LETTER  upon  that 
Occafion,  to  JOHN  BURRIL,  Efq; 
Speaker  to  the  Houfe  of  R  E  P  R  E- 
S  E  N  T  A  T I V  E  S  for  the  Province 
of  the  MaJJachufetts-Bay>  in 

New-England. 


Better  is  a  little  with  Righteoufnefs ,  than 
great  Revenues  without  Right . 


BOSTON: 

Printed  by  T.  Fleet ,  in  Pudding-Lane , 
near  King-Street .  1714. 


240 


Colonial  Currency 


SIR, 


[3] 

A 

Letter,  &c. 


Believe  it  can’t  be  unknown  to  you,  That  some 
time  the  last  Summer,  I  presented  a  Memorial 
to  His  Excellency  the  Governour  and  Council \ 
referring  to  the  Bank  of  Credit ,  Projected  by  a 
Number  of  Gentlemen,  Merchants,  and  others 
and  you  must  needs  have  seen  in  the  Publick 
News-Paper ,  an  Order  of  Council  that  was  passed  upon  that 
Occasion ;  whereby  the  Projectors  were  directed  to  Proceed 
no  further  in  that  Affair,  until  the  next  Session  of  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Assembly ,  That  so  the  whole  Government  might  be  of 
Advice  in  a  Matter  of  that  Weight  and  Consequence.  Not¬ 
withstanding  all  which,  (I  am  loth  to  say  in  Contempt  of  it) 
the  Persons  Concerned,  are  openly  carrying  on  their  Bank 
with  utmost  Vigour  and  Expedition ;  as  Supposing,  and  in¬ 
deed  Affirming,  That  the  Government  have  nothing  to  do  with 
them  in  that  Affair:  So  that  ’tis  very  much  to  be  questioned, 
whether  the  Projectors  will  [4]  make  any  Application  to  the 
General  Assembly  or  not ;  looking  upon  themselves  very  Well 
and  Sufficient  without  it.  But  does  it  follow,  SIR,  That  the 
Government  must  sit  still,  and  neither  Say  nor  Do  anything, 
when  they  see  and  hear  of  a  Projection  that  is  just  ripe  for 
Execution,  which  so  very  much  Imports  the  Prerogative  of 
the  Crown ,  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  this  Province,  the 
Estates  and  Liberties  of  the  People,  and  that  not  only  for  the 
present,  but  succeeding  Generations?  No,  it  can’t  be! 


lot. 

w 

lot 

033S°30'0\’<?'rr 

I 

:o: 

lot 

§ 

fCo- 

among  us; 


241 


Reprint 

I  doubt  not,  but  that  before  I  have  finished  this  Letter, 
to  prove  beyond  all  Question,  and  that  by  very  good  Rea¬ 
son,  That  as  it  Principally,  and  in  the  first  Place  behoves 
the  Government ,  and  General  Assembly  of  the  Province,  so 
it  really  Concerns  every  Man  that  has  any  Interest  in  this 
Country,  with  great  Application  to  Enquire  into,  and  Seri¬ 
ously  Consider  the  Nature  and  Consequences  of  this  Bank 
of  Partnership ,  and  that  before  it  take  Effect,  and  there  be 
no  Remedy:  For  do  but  suppose,  SIR ,  This  Pandoras  Box 
once  opened,  and  Two  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  of  these 
Bank-Bills  Issued  and  Circulating  upon  Loan ,  or  otherwise, 
and  the  Government  at  home  should  afterwards,  in  their 
Great  Wisdom  Disapprove  and  Suppress  ’em,  or  it  should 
otherwise  Miscarry  and  come  to  [5]  nothing,  by  any  unfore¬ 
seen  Accident;  into  what  Irreparable  Mischiefs,  Confusion 
and  Misery  would  every  body  be  Involved,  that  had  to  do 
with  ’em  ?  and  the  Blame  and  Reproach  of  it  finally  (with 
too  much  Reason)  be  thrown  and  Center  on  the  General 
Assembly:  For  it  will  be  Natural  for  every  one  then  to  say, 
Ay  !  Why  did  not  the  Government  Interpose  and  Prevent 
this  ?  And  it  was  this  very  Consideration  that  principally 
Determined  me  at  this  time,  freely  to  Communicate  my 
Thoughts  upon  this  Matter:  And  I  could  not,  I  am  sure, 
think  of  a  more  suitable  Person  to  Offer  ’em  to,  than  One, 
who  has  deservedly  so  good  a  Character  and  great  an  Influ¬ 
ence  in  his  Country. 

But  before  I  proceed  any  further,  I  must  pray  you  not  to 
mistake  my  Design ;  for  my  Intention  is  not  so  much  to  sit 
in  Judgment  upon  this  Bank  Projection ,  as  to  Awaken  the 
Government,  (Pardon  the  Expression)  and  to  Convince  the 
Projectors,  that  not  one  Step  in  an  Affair  of  this  Conse- 

VOL.  I  —  16 


242 


Colonial  Currency 

quence,  ought  to  be  taken  without  the  Knowledge  and 
Leave  of  His  Majesty’s  Government  of  this  Province,  and 
that  for  these  two  Reasons:  Principally, 

First .  Because  we  are  a  Dependent  Government,  and 
must  in  all  things  Conform  our  selves  to  the  Laws  of  Great 
Britain ,  and  the  Instructions  of  the  “  Crown ;  ”  and  there¬ 
fore  [6]  must  expect  to  give  an  Account  of  all  our  Matters. 
And  then 

Secondly .  Because  the  People  of  this  Country  have  their 
next  and  immediate  Dependance  on  the  General  Assembly , 
who  are  therefore  to  see  to  it,  (as  they  will  answer  the  Trust 
reposed  in  them)  that  the  Common-Wealth  receive  no  Dam¬ 
age  by  their  Means.  But  to  proceed  in  what  I  have  further 
to  say,  I  shall  take  this  Method.  First  I  shall  give  you  a 
short  Abstract  of  the  Projection  it  self,  and  then  some  of 
my  Sentiments  or  Reflections  upon  it. 

The  Projection  in  short,  as  I  understand  it  is  thus :  A ,  B , 
C,  D ,  &c,  to  the  Number  we’ll  say  of  one  Hundred,  by  a 
certain  Policy  of  their  own  Framing,  Aggregate  or  Join 
themselves  together  into  a  Company  or  Partnership ,  in 
Order  to  make  a  Bank  of  Credit ,  as  they  call  it,  by  Sub¬ 
scriptions,  amounting  to  Two  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds; 
which  Sum  they  propose  to  make  into  Bills,  of  Pounds ,  and 
Shillings ,  and  to  let  ’em  out  at  Four  Pounds  per  Cent .  In¬ 
terest;  the  Subscribers  themselves  being  obliged  to  takeout 
one  quarter  Part  of  their  respective  Subscriptions,  and  give 
good  Security  accordingly;  the  other  three  Quarters  to  be 
let  out  upon  good  Land  Security,  to  such  as  will  borrow 
’em ;  the  Profits  arising  from  time  to  time,  upon  the  Loan 
of  [7]  the  Bills ,  to  be  to  the  Community  or  Partnership , 
excepting  some  Proportions  thereof,  which  they  propose  for 


243 


Reprint 

the  Use  of  the  Government,  the  Town  of  Boston ,  and  some 
other  Publick  Uses,  after  the  Expiration  of  such  a  Time, 
and  on  certain  Conditions  therein  Expressed.  And  for  the 
better  Management  of  their  Affairs,  they  have  their  Treas¬ 
urer ,  Directors ,  and  other  Officers,  &c .  But  for  your  fur¬ 
ther  Information  of  the  Projection,  I  will  now  Insert  the 
Form  of  one  of  their  Bills ,  Viz . 

s. 

(20) 

THIS  Indented  Bill  of  Twenty  Shillings ,  Obliges  us ,  and 
all  and  every  of  us ,  and  all  and  every  of  our  Partners 
of  the  Bank  of  Credit  in  Boston  in  New-England,  to  Accept 
the  same  in  all  Payments,  according  to  Covenant  made  by  us, 
on  Publick  Record ;  and  that  it  shall  be  accordingly  received 
by  the  Treasurer  for  the  Redemption  of  any  Pawn  or 
Mortgage  in  the  said  Bank.  Boston,  &c. 

Now  in  the  first  Place,  SIR,  How  Plainly  and  Greatly 
must  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown ,  and  the  Honour  of 
Government  be  [8]  affected  by,  and  concerned  in  this 
Projection.  Dare  any  Man  of  Law,  or  will  any  Man  that 
loves  or  understands  any  thing  of  Government,  Say,  or 
Imagine,  That  such  a  Bank  as  this,  may  Safely,  or  can  indeed 
Possibly  be  set  up,  and  carried  on  without  a  Charter  from  the 
Crown  ?  Shall  a  Number  of  Persons,  of  their  own  Head, 
Form  themselves  into  a  Company,  by  a  Constitution  of  their 
own  making,  and  Erect  themselves  into  a  Body  Politick,  and 
Corporate  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes  in  the  Law,  so  as  to 
Sue  and  be  Sued,  to  Purchase  and  Grant  Lands  to  take 
in  Succession,  with  the  Power  of  Making  and  Lending  at 
one  Stroke,  the  Modest  Sum  of  Two  Hundred  Thousand 


244  Colonial  Currency 

Pounds ,  and  afterwards  as  much  more  as  they  shall  see  meet  ? 
Certainly,  Men  that  Talk  at  this  Rate,  must  be  absolute 
Strangers  to  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  Great  Britain , 
the  Honour  of  Government,  the  very  Notion  and  Nature  of 
Corporations :  For  any  one  that  has  but  lookt  into  the  History 
of  England  and  London ,  will  find  that  the  several  Companies, 
Fraternities,  and  Corporations  there,  have  been  all  of  them 
Created,  either  by  Charter  from  the  Crown ,  or  by  Act  of 
Parliament ,  and  some  of  ’em  by  both  ;  and  neither  have,  nor 
pretend  to  any  other  Powers,  Franchises  or  Liberties,  than 
such  as  are  Given  and  Limited  to  ’em  in  and  by  their 
several  [9]  Charters .  And  indeed  it  is  altogether  Absurd 
in  the  Law,  for  a  Body  Politick  to  create  it  self,  as  in  Philos¬ 
ophy  for  the  Body  Natural ' 

The  Law-Books  of  England ,  do  all  Una  Voce  Proclaim  it 
as  an  undoubted  Truth,  That  all  Powers  Politick ,  all  Frari- 
chises,  Liberties ,  Charters  Corporations ,  and  the  like,  are 
Derived  from  the  King,  as  their  Original  Fountain.  And 
I  believe  this  is  the  first  time  that  ever  any  thing  to  the 
Contrary  entred  into  the  Reason  of  any  Man  out  of  Eutopia . 
I  am  sure  the  Great  and  Famous  Bank  of  England  was  first 
Founded,  and  is  still  Supported  on  the  strength  of  an  Act  of 
Parliament ,  and  a  Charter  of  the  late  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  of  Glorious  Memory;  as  may  be  seen  at  Large 
by  the  said  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Years  of  that  Reign:  Whereby  Their  Majesties  were  Im- 
power’d  to  Incorporate  a  Number  of  Gentlemen,  Merchants, 
&c.  by  the  Name  of  the  G  over nour  and  Company  of  the  Bank 
of  England ;  who  were  to  Govern  themselves  by  certain 
Rules  and  Limitations,  made  partly  by  the  said  Act  of 
Parliament ,  and  to  be  made  by  Their  Majesties  in  the 


Reprint  245 

Charter ,  and  which  was  finally  Subject  to  the  Condition  of 
a  Redemption  by  Parliament . 

[10]  But  our  Gentlemen,  it  seems,  have  found  out  a  nearer 
way  to  a  Bank  and  Corporation ,  than  the  Tedious  and 
Troublesome  one  of  a  Charter  from  Home,  or  Acts  of 
Assembly  here;  and  not  only  presume  to  Incorporate  them¬ 
selves,  and  make  their  own  Rules  and  Orders,  but  also  very 
Dutifully  foreclose  and  shut  out  the  Government  from  any 
Power  of  Redemption,  or  indeed  any  other  Concern  with  ’em. 

Possibly  these  Gentlemen  may  say,  They  don’t  pretend  to 
Incorporate  or  make  themselves  a  Body  Politick ,  &c.  but  to 
Obviate  that  Objection,  I  shall  give  you  the  Notion,  and 
Nature  of  a  Corporation,  as  I  find  it  in  my  Lord  Cook's 
Institutes,  and  then  leave  you  to  Judge  how  Inconsistent 
this  Objection  is  with  their  Policy  or  Projection. 

My  Lord  Cook  says,  4  A  Corporation  is  a  Body  to  take  in 
Succession,  Framed  as  to  that  Capacity  by  the  Policy  of 
Man,  and  called  a  Corporation,  because  the  Persons  are 
made  into  a  Body,  and  so  are  of  Capacity  to  Take  or  Grant, 
&c.  with  Powers  to  Sue  or  be  Sued,  &c .’  Now  ’tis  easy 
to  observe,  how  fully  the  Projectors,  in  their  Scheme,  have 
come  up  to  this  Description  of  a  Corporation. 

[11]  As  to  their  Bank-Bills,  I  readily  grant  they  are  not 
Money;  for  indeed  nothing  can  be  Money  properly,  and  in 
the  Law  of  England ,  but  Silver  or  Gold  (both  which  are  of 
an  Intrinsick  and  Universal  Value)  that  has  the  Impress  of 
the  Prince,  and  made  Current  at  a  Rate,  or  Value  set  by  Act 
of  Parliament ,  or  Proclamation  of  the  Crown.  However, 
these  Bills  will  have  as  much  the  Face  and  Signatures  of' 
Money,  as  even  the  Bills  of  the  Bank  of  England ,  or  the 
Bills  of  Credit  of  this  Province :  For  they  are  to  be  Printed, 


246  Colonial  Currency 

to  be  Stamped  with  an  Escutcheon ,  to  be  Marled  with  Pounds 
and  Shillings',  They  are  to  be  Let  out  at  Interest,  and 
finally,  the  Projectors  themselves  tell  us,  They  are  to  serve 
as  a  Medium  of  Exchange,  which  was  the  First  Rise,  and 
still  continues  the  End  and  Use  of  Money.  But  that  which 
I  Insist  on  under  this  Head  as  before,  is,  That  no  Person,  or 
Number  of  Persons  whatsoever,  can  Assume,  or  may  Dare  to 
take  this  Power  to  themselves,  but  must  Derive  it  from  the 
Crown. 

But  besides  what  I  have  said  of  the  Prerogative,  the  Nature 
of  Corporations  in  General,  with  Political  Powers ,  Liberties , 
&c.  and  in  Particular  of  the  Bank  of  England,  I  must  needs 
observe  to  you,  an  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the  Sixth  Year 
of  the  Reign  of  our  [12]  late  Sovereign  Lady  Queen  Anne  of 
Blessed  Memory,  wherein  it  is  Enacted,  That  during  the 
Continuance  of  the  Bank  of  England ,  it  shall  not  be  Lawful 
for  any  Body  Politick  or  Corporate ,  other  than  the  said  Com¬ 
pany  of  the  Bank,  or for  other  Part7iers  exceeding  Six  in  Eng¬ 
land,  to  borrow ,  or  Owe  any  Sum  on  Bill  or  Note  Payable  on 
Demand \  or  at  any  time  less  than  Six  Months  from  Borrowing 
thereof 

Now  I  shan’t  trouble  you  or  my  self,  to  Argue  how  far 
this  Projection  would  be  a  Breach  upon  the  Constitution  of 
the  Bank  of  England',  yet  I  think  it  is  very  fair  and  easy 
to  observe,  that  so  great  a  Number  of  Persons,  as  our  Pro¬ 
jectors  consist  of,  may  by  no  Means,  without  a  sufficient 
Power  first  had,  presume  to  Make  or  Issue  these  their  Jfoynt 
Bills  or  Notes.  For  certainly,  if  the  same  Fact  committed 
in  Engla7id,  by  a  Number  exceeding  Six,  would  be  a  breach 
of  Law,  much  more  may  we  suppose  it  forbidden  and  made 
unlawful  for  an  Hundred  to  do  it  here. 


247 


Reprint 

We  frequently  meet  in  our  Law-Books ,  with  Informations 
in  the  Nature  of  Quo  Warrantos  against  Corporations  and 
Bodies  Politick,  for  Usurping  Powers,  Franchises  and  Liber¬ 
ties  not  belonging  to  them ;  or  for  abusing  and  acting  con¬ 
trary  to  those  that  do.  And  the  [13]  Defence  generally 
made  in  those  Cases  has  been  Founded  on  their  several 
Charters .  But  now  suppose  such  an  Information  were 
Ordered  to  be  brought  against  these  Projectors,  what  Defence 
in  the  Law  could  possibly  be  made  by  them,  or  for  them  ? 

I  now  proceed  to  the  next  General  Head  which  I  pro¬ 
posed,  and  that  is,  How  far  the  Government,  and  the  very 
Constitution  of  this  Province  may  be  affected  by,  and  there¬ 
fore  ought  thoroly  to  Inform  themselves  about  this  Pro¬ 
jection:  And  I  think  nothing  can  be  plainer,  than  that  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Province,  are  under  a  necessity  of 
Enquiring  into  the  Legality,  the  Justice,,  the  Safety,  and 
Publick  Advantage  of  this  Bank ,  and  if  judged  otherwise  ; 
by  some  proper  Act,  or  Publick  Order  to  Declare  against, 
and  forbid  it,  until  His  Majesties  Pleasure  may  be  known 
upon  it.  And  as  no  wise  Man,  or  good  Subject  can  question 
the  Power  of  Justice  of  the  Government  in  so  doing,  so  ’tis 
much  to  be  feared  on  the  other  Hand,  in  Case  they  should  be 
wholly  Silent,  they  might  be  called  in  Question  at  Home,  for 
any  ill  Consequences  of  their  Neglect  therein :  For  I  can’t 
agree  by  any  means  with  those  Gentlemen  that  Argue, 
Because  the  Bank  is  Private,  and  the  Government  as  such 
not  In-[i4]terested  in  it,  that  the  whole  Blame  and  Damage 
will  fall  on  the  Projectors.  Can  it  be  Imagined,  that  when 
this  Affair  has  been  so  Publick,  the  Government  Notified  of 
it  so  Effectually,  and  the  Projection  it  self  of  so  high  and 
extraordinary  a  Nature,  That  upon  the  whole,  no  Account 


248  Colonial  Currency 

will  be  demanded  by  His  Majesty  of  the  Government,  what 
Methods  they  took  upon  this  Occasion,  to  secure  the  Honour 
of  the  Crown,  and  the  Safety  of  the  Subject.  But  be  that  as 
it  will,  I  think  it  very  Unreasonable,  and  absolutely  Incon¬ 
sistent  with  the  Honour,  the  Power,  and  Wisdom  of  this 
Government,  to  suffer  any  Projection  whatsoever,  tho’ other¬ 
wise  never  so  well  framed,  to  be  set  up  and  carried  on,  and 
they  have  no  Advice  about  it,  no  Authority  over  it,  nor  so 
much  as  a  Power  to  Redeem  it,  in  case  they  see  good.  This 
will  be  in  effect,  to  suffer  a  Number  of  their  own  People  to 
set  up  an  absolute  Independent  Government,  which  like  a 
Fire  in  the  Bowels,  will  Bum  up  and  Consume  the  whole 
Body.  If  such  things  as  these  may  be  Tolerated,  ‘twill  be  a 
vain  thing  any  longer  to  talk  of  Government,  a  Power  of 
making  Laws,  Regulating  Trade,  &c.  For  they  that  can 
make  at  one  Dash,  the  Sum  beforementioned,  and  as  much 
more  when  they  please,  will  quickly  Govern  the  Trading 
part,  and  by  degrees  [15]  get  the  Land,  of  the  Country 
Mortgaged  to  them,  and  so  at  length  bear  down  the  Govern¬ 
ment  it  self,  and  nothing  be  restrained  from  them .  For  which 
Reason  I  hope,  and  doubt  not,  but  that  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Province,  will  upon  this  great  Occasion,  exert  their 
proper  Powers,  as  they  have  once  and  again  heretofore,  when 
they  have  been  under  any  apprehensions  of  Danger,  either 
to  the  Government,  or  the  Publick  Good.  Two  notable 
Instances  whereof  you’ll  find  in  the  Memorial \  one  with 
respect  to  the  making  of  Money,  and  the  other  of  a  Part¬ 
nership  or  Company,  both  which  are  Published  among  the 
Printed  Acts. 

As  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  the  Sixth  of  the  late  Queen 
beforementioned,  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  late  also  made 


Reprint  249 

referring  to  Money  in  the  Plantations,  the  several  Laws  of 
our  own  Province,  with  respect  to  Money,  and  the  Interest 
of  it ;  as  also  those  that  concern  the  Bills  of  Credit  Estab¬ 
lished  on  the  Province ;  all  of  which  will  more  or  less  be 
Affected,  Invalidated,  and  broke  in  upon  by  this  Projection. 
I  have  taken  so  much  Notice  of  them  in  the  Memorial,  that 
I  shall  forbear  saying  anything  more  on  that  Head  here,  save 
only  to  Remark,  That  as  the  General  Court  or  Assembly  of 
the  Province,  so  [i6]  certainly  no  particular  number  of  Per¬ 
sons  in  a  Company  or  Partnership,  can  Pretend,  or  must 
Presume  to  Institute  or  Establish  any  thing  Repugnant  to 
the  Laws  of  Engla7id .  And  so  I  pass  on,  in  the  last  Place 
to  Consider  the  Frame  and  Nature  of  this  Laudable  Pro¬ 
jection,  as  some  are  pleased  to  call  it ;  and  my  Objections 
to  it  are  such  as  these. 

First .  Its  absolute  Independency  on  the  Government, 
either  as  to  its  Regulation,  or  the  power  of  Redemption ; 
which,  as  I  observed  before,  is  a  thing  Intolerable,  and 
without  Precedent,  and  never  so  much  as  entred  into  the 
Minds  of  the  Projectors  of  the  Great  Bank  of  England  to 
Ask,  much  less  of  the  Government  to  Grant. 

Secondly,  I  cannot  see  the  Reasonableness  and  Justice  of 
of  it,  betwixt  the  Subscribers  and  Borrowers :  For,  as  I  have 
remarked  already,  the  Subscribers  are  obliged  to  take  out 
but  a  Quarter  part  of  their  Subscriptions,  the  other  three 
Quarters  is  to  be  Let  out  at  four  per  Cent .  Interest,  upon 
good  Security.  Now,  according  to  the  common  course  of 
Interest,  in  less  than  Twenty  Years,  and  if  the  Company 
shall  please,  by  issuing  out  a  greater  Quantity  of  Bills ,  in  a 
third  part  of  that  Time,  the  Subscribers  will  have  cleared 
their  [17]  own  Mortgages,  draw  out  their  own  Stakes,  and 


250 


Colonial  Currency 

so  have  the  Interest  of  the  whole  to  share  among  them¬ 
selves,  and  the  Bubbled  Borrowers  pay  Interest  for  their  own 
Estates.  Pray  where’s  the  Justice  of  this?  Why  should 
not  the  Borrowers  when  it  comes  to  that,  have  some  of  the 
Profits  of  the  Bank ,  when  their  Estates  are  the  only  remain¬ 
ing  Fund?  I  confess,  it  may  seem  a  very  easy  and  short 
Way  of  getting  an  Estate;  but  sure  no  Projection  can  ex¬ 
pect  to  Succeed,  that  is  not  Founded  in  Commutative  Jus¬ 
tice  and  Common  Honesty. 

I  should  be  glad  to  know  of  these  Gentlemen,  that  pre¬ 
tend  to  be  so  Publick  Spirited  in  this  Business,  whether 
they  could  be  Contented,  and  have  the  same  Opinion  of  this 
Bank ,  if  their  Names  were  taken  out  of  the  Policy,  and  an 
equal  Number  of  others  put  in,  and  I  suppose,  without  any 
Reflection,  as  Good  may  be  found,  and  so  instead  of  being 
Lenders,  they  would  become  Borrowers  of  these  Bank-Bills  ? 
I  am  afraid  not!  For  the  Business  is,  and  very  good  Busi¬ 
ness  it  would  be,  in  one  Day  to  be  Masters  of  150000/.  and 
without  any  Risque  at  all,  or  any  other  Charge  or  Trouble, 
except  the  Printing  and  Signing  a  few  pieces  of  Paper,  to 
accept  of  Six  Thousand  Pounds  per  Annum  Interest:  By 
[18]  which  Method,  in  effect,  the  Projectors  would  immedi¬ 
ately  have  the  Profits  of  other  Mens  Estates ;  and  finally,  as 
the  Matter  may  be  managed,  the  Estates  themselves,  without 
a  valuable  Consideration ;  their  Bank-Bills  being  but  pieces 
of  Paper  that  have  other  Value,  but  what  the  Borrowers 
give  them.  And  yet  we  are  made  to  believe,  that  the  Bor¬ 
rowers  are  well  dealt  with,  if  tho’  they  pay  Interest,  yet  they 
may  at  last  have  their  own  Estates  or  Pawns  back  again, 
upon  bringing  in  the  Bills.  If  this  be  not  the  Philosopher  s 
Stone ,  there  is  no  such  thing  in  the  World. 


251 


Reprint 

Thirdly .  It  must,  I  think,  unavoidably  prove  a  great 
Snare  and  Mischief  to  some  People  that  want  Money  to  pay 
their  Debts  or  otherwise,  for  whose  Ease  and  Advantage 
nevertheless  the  Bank  is  Projected :  As  for  Example ;  A 
Man  owes  me  one  Hundred  Pounds  upon  Bond,  in  the  Bills 
of  Credit  of  the  Province,  and  very  readily  pays  me  Six  per 
Cent.  Interest ;  to  Discharge  which,  he  repairs  to  the  Bank , 
and  Borrows  ioo  /.  in  their  Bills,  and  comes  to  take  up  his 
Bond:  Can  any  Man  in  Prudence  or  Justice  think,  that  I 
shall  take  one  Hundred  Pounds  in  Bank-Bills ,  that  will 
fetch  but  Four  per  Cent .  for  one  Hundred  Pounds  in  Prov¬ 
ince  Bills ,  that  People  so  willingly  give  Six  per  Cent .  for? 
No  sure.  I  must  at  least  [19]  have  as  many  of  the  Bank- 
Bills ,  as  will  fetch  Six  per  Cent.  And  if  the  Bankers  should 
out  of  their  great  Generosity,  and  in  Compassion  as  they 
pretend  to  such  as  want  Money,  Let  their  Interest  at  Three, 
or  two  per  Cent.  Interest,  the  Case  would  be  so  much  the 
worse. 

Fourthly .  What  Security  will  the  last  Possessor  of  these 
Bills  have  to  depend  upon,  in  case  this  Bank  should  be 
broke  up,  either  by  the  Government,  or  its  self  ?  As  for 
Example:  A  Man  has  one  Thousand  Pounds  of  ’em  by 
him ;  what  shall  he  do  with  ’em,  when  the  Credit  of  ’em  is 
come  to  nothing?  For,  by  the  Tenour  of  the  Bills,  as  you 
see,  they  are  only  obliged  to  accept  of  ’em  for  the  Redemp¬ 
tion  of  Pawns  or  Mortgages;  and  this  Possessor  has  neither 
to  take  up.  Possibly  you  ’ll  say  the  Bankers  will  Assign  him 
over  a  Mortgage:  To  that  I  answer,  That  the  Foundation 
being  gone,  everything  else  will  fall  with  it.  I  doubt  our 
Courts  would  never  Adjudge  those  Mortgages  to  be  good  in 
the  Law,  being  for  no  Valuable  Consideration,  so  that  the 


252 


Colonial  Currency 

Lands  so  Mortgaged,  would  Revert  to  the  Original  Owners, 
like  the  Year  of  Jubilee  among  the  Jews.  And  then  as  to 
the  Possessors  Suing  of  the  Company  to  make  good  their 
Bills ,  first  there  will  be  no  such  thing  in  case  they  be  Dis¬ 
solved,  by  Order  of  [20]  Government ;  secondly,  If  in  the 
other  Case,  it  should  sink  of  it  self,  they  may  prove  Insol¬ 
vent,  and  so  the  Possessor  be  finely  Lurched'.  For  which 
Reason,  all  Wise  Men  will  be  afraid  to  meddle  with  them, 
or  be  sure  to  get  rid  of  them  as  fast  as  they  can. 

Fifthly.  The  Name  and  Stile  of  this  Projection,  is  a  Bank 
of  Credit'.  Now  I  take  it  for  a  certain  Rule,  That  no  Money - 
Bank ,  as  we  may  call  it,  can  or  will  possibly  have  any  Credit 
that  is  not  Equal,  either  Really,  or  in  Reputation,  to  the 
True  or  common  Current  Money  of  the  Country,  or  Place 
where  such  Bank  is  Erected:  And  You  may  depend  upon 
it,  SIR,  That  if  the  Bills  of  the  Bank  of  England  it  self 
were  not  looked  upon  as  good  as  Specie ,  and  in  effect  a 
Money-Bank ,  the  Credit  of  ’em  would  quickly  come  to 
nothing.  For  which  Purpose  there  are  always  kept  in  the 
Office  of  the  said  Bank  in  London,^  ast  Sums  of  Silver  and 
Gold,  to  Exchange  for  their  Bills  to  any  one  that  demands 
it.  Besides  which,  the  Exchequer,  as  you  may  see  frequently 
by  the  London-Gazett,  is  always  ready  for  that  End  to  Assist 
’em  with  whatever  Sums  they  may  have  Occasion  for.  But 
now  our  Projectors  don’t  so  much  as  pretend  to  have  the  least 
Doight  of  Silver  or  Gold,  or  even  a  Stock  of  Bills  of  Credit 
of  this  Province  [21]  to  Answer,  in  Case  of  Necessity,  or  to 
support  the  Credit  of  their  Bills  withal.  And  I  am  sure 
they  have  no  reason  to  expect  the  Assistance  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  upon  any  Emergency,  since  as  yet,  they  have  not  so 
much  as  Consulted  them  in  the  whole  Affair. 


253 


Reprint 

Sixthly .  I  cannot  but  think,  the  Making  and  Issuing  so 
great  a  Quantity  of  these  Bank-Bills ,  will  be  attended  with 
a  great  deal  of  Mischief  and  Confusion  as  to  Money  in  Gen¬ 
eral:  Now  Money  is  of  the  greatest  Importance,  and  last 
Consequence  to  a  Common- Wealth',  for  as  ’tis  the  Sinews  of 
War,  so  ’tis  the  Strength  of  Peace :  For  which  Reason,  we 
can’t  have  too  much  of  that  which  really  is  Money,  but  we 
may  very  easily  have  too  much  of  that  which  is  not  so. 

The  poorest  Country-Man  in  the  Province,  is  not  con¬ 
vinced  to  this  Day,  but  that  Silver,  tho’  never  so  Rough 
and  Unpolished,  is  preferable  to  the  finest  Paper-Money  that 
ever  was  seen.  We  have  had  too  much  Confusion  already 
in  the  Province,  by  the  Difference  that  has  been  made  be¬ 
tween  Silver- Money  and  our  Publick  Bills  of  Credit,  (when 
yet  they  were  Supported  by  the  Government)  and  are  hardly 
got  over  it  to  this  Day.  But  into  what  [22]  a  Gulph  of 
Misery  by  Stock-jobbing  Difference  of  Money,  and  innumer¬ 
able  other  Mischiefs  shall  we  be  plunged  think  you,  when 
such  a  Flood  of  Private  Paper-Money  comes  to  be  poured 
out  among  us?  ’Tis  now  more  than  Twelve  Years  since 
the  Government  first  began  to  Make  and  Issue  the  Bills  of 
Credit ;  and  tho’  the  Occasions  and  necessities  of  the  Prov¬ 
ince  have  been  very  Pressing  and  Urgent,  yet  in  all  that 
time,  they  have  made  but  about  Two  Hundred  and  Forty 
Thousand  Pounds :  But  as  if  that  were  a  small  Thing,  our 
Gentlemen  propose  at  once  to  Make  and  Issue  out  200000  /. 
And  by  the  same  Reason  that  a  Bank  is  set  up  in  Boston , 
several  others  may  go  on  in  the  several  parts  of  the  Province ; 
and  what  can  the  Consequence  of  this  be,  but  to  Confound 
the  People,  and  make  Money  Vile  and  Contemptible ;  and 
as  much  as  in  them  lies,  to  Alter  and  Destroy  the  very  Nature 


254 


Colonial  Currency 

of  Money  ?  So  that  instead  of  Answering  all  things,  as  it 
has  always  done,  and  ought  to  do,  it  will  now  Answer 
nothing,  and  be  worse  than  every  thing  else ;  For  that  which 
really  makes  the  Value  of  Money,  among  other  things,  is  its 
Rarity :  So  that  upon  the  whole,  the  Remedy  proposed  by 
these  Projectors,  will  be  much  worse  than  the  Disease.  As 
to  the  Business  of  Trade,  for  the  Ease,  Benefit,  and  Advan¬ 
tage  whereof  [23]  this  Wonderful  Bank  is  Projected,  it  would 
be  well  Considered,  First,  Whether  we  have  not  generally 
run  upon  too  much  Trade  for  our  Profit  already?  For  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  tho‘  I  am  no  Merchant,  the  greatness  of 
the  Credit  given  in  Trade,  has  in  a  great  Measure  brought 
this  want  of  Money  upon  us. 

I  confess,  as  to  the  Encouraging  the  Produce  of  our  own 
Country,  and  our  own  Manufactures,  the  Exporting  of  our 
own  Commodities  we  cannot  well  exceed ;  but  if  we  Import 
from  Abroad,  more  than  we  can  Pay  for,  by  what  we  Produce 
our  selves,  or  Purchase  from  others  with  our  own  Commodi¬ 
ties,  we  shall  unavoidably  grow  Poor,  and  a  Million  of  Paper- 
Money  won‘t  help  the  matter  at  all:  So  that  the  less  we 
Import  from  Abroad,  the  less  Money  or  Medium  of  Ex¬ 
change,  the  Trading  part  will  want.  And  here  indeed  has 
been  our  great  Improvidence  and  Unhappiness  in  this  Coun¬ 
try,  (of  late  Years  especially)  that  the  greatest  part  of  our 
Consumption  in  Boston ,  and  other  Sea-port  Towns,  almost  to 
Food  and  Raiment,  has  been  of  Foreign  Commodities,  when 
the  same  things  might  be  raised  among  our  selves,  were  the 
Produce  of  our  own  Country  Encouraged,  at  least,  so  much 
as  to  make  a  Ballance  of  Trade  in  our  Favour.  Besides  all 
which,  I  [24]  cannot  but  think  it  the  Duty  and  Interest  of 
our  Merchants  and  Traders,  who  have  been  the  great  Oc- 


255 


Reprint 

casion  of  the  Loss  of  our  Silver ,  to  Project  some  way  of 
Recovering  it  again,  and  manage  the  Trade,  so  as  that,  a 
good  Proportion  of  Silver  and  Gold  might  once  more  find 
the  way  into  New-England ,  and  there  remain  for  the  Honour 
and  Service  of  the  Government  and  Country,  who  have  Suf¬ 
fered  and  been  Exposed  too  much  already  for  want  of  it ;  and 
had  not  the  absolute  Necessity  of  the  Government  and  People 
Required  it,  it  had  been  better  (in  the  Opinion  of  many  Wise 
Men)  for  the  Province,  they  had  never  made  any  Bills,  or 
Paper-Money  at  all. 

I  might  also  mention  the  great  Extravagance  that  People, 
and  especially  the  Ordinary  sort,  are  fallen  into,  far  beyond 
their  circumstances,  in  their  Purchases,  Buildings,  Families, 
Expences,  Apparel,  and  generally  in  their  whole  way  of  Liv¬ 
ing  :  And  above  all,  the  excessive  Consumption  of  Rhum  and 
Wine,  as  one  of  the  greatest  Sources  and  Causes  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  Distress :  Hereupon  it  must  be  granted  by  every  one  of 
common  Sense  and  Observation,  That  if  the  Importation 
of  Foreign  Commodities  were  less  and  especially  those 
[25]  two  Branches  beforementioned,  viz.  Rhum  and  Wine 
Reduced  to  what  only  might  be  Necessary.  Were  but  a 
tolerable  Proportion  of  Silver  brought  in  to  us,  which  might 
be  effected  with  Ease  and  Profit,  were  Frugality  and  good 
Husbandry  Universally  in  Fashion  among  us,  there  would 
not  be  such  a  Clamour  for  want  of  a  Medium  of  Exchange. 
I  confess,  as  things  are  at  present  Managed  and  Circum¬ 
stanced  among  us,  both  Silver  and  Paper-Money  is  become 
very  scarce  ;  tho’  really  more  in  Boston,  and  among  the  Trad¬ 
ing  part,  than  in  Proportion,  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Prov¬ 
ince.  And  the  last  Session  of  the  General  Assembly,  when 
I  had  the  Honour  to  be  one  of  an  Extraordinary  Committee 


256  Colonial  Currency 

raised  for  that  Purpose  ;  I  gave  it  as  my  Opinion,  That  con¬ 
sidering  the  Demand  of  the  Government  as  to  the  Taxes ,  arid 
the  great  Occasions  of  the  People  as  to  their  Trade ,  it  might  be 
convenient  to  Make  and  Issue  out  a  further  Quantity  of  the 
Publick  Bills  of  Credit,  &c.  in  such  a  Method  as  was  then 
agreed  on :  *And  of  the  same  Opinion  were  all  of  that  Com¬ 
mittee,  save  Two,  as  I  Remember,  and  they  consisted  of 
Thirteen :  And  accordingly  a  Report  was  made  by  the 
Chair-Man ,  in  the  Name  of  the  rest.  But  how  that  Matter 
dropt  when  it  came  into  the  Lower  House ,  I  shall  not  take 
upon  me  here  to  say,  tho’  it  may  easily  be  guessed  at.  How¬ 
ever,  I  perswade  my-[26]self,  that  when  the  General  Assembly 
comes  to  Review  that  Report ,  the  Scheme  then  Agreed,  will 
be  found  the  best,  if  not  the  only  Expedient  to  Relieve  the 
present  Distress  ;  and  the  Gentlemen  that  Oppose  it,  will  I’m 
Confident,  have  no  Thanks  from  those  they  Represent. 

SIR ,  I  do  not  pretend  in  all,  or  any  thing  that  I  have 
said,  to  be  against  a  Bank  of  Credit  in  General,  were  it 
well  Founded,  well  Limited,  and  Regulated  by  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  and  Equal  to  our  own  Current- Money,  as  such  a  Bank 
ought  to  be :  But  I  am  utterly  against  this  present  Projec¬ 
tion,  for  the  Reasons  I  have  given,  and  many  others  that 
might  be  Mentioned :  And  since,  as  I  said  before,  and  I 
really  am  of  that  Opinion,  That  there  is  a  Necessity  of 
Supplying  the  People  with  a  further  convenient  Quantity  of 
Bills  of  Credit,  for  the  better  Payment  of  their  Taxes ,  and 
the  ease  of  Trade.  I  am  absolutely  for  its  being  done  by 
the  Publick,  and  for  such  Reasons  as  these. 

First.  We  have  had  Twelve  Years  Experience  already 
of  the  Publick  Bills,  with  great  Honour,  Safety,  and  Suc¬ 
cess  ;  Whereas  the  Private  Projection,  is  a  Path  that  has 


Reprint  257 

never  yet  been  Trod,  and  what  the  Consequences  may  be, 
we  don’t  know. 

[27]  Secondly.  The  Bills  of  Credit  upon  the  Province, 
are  Equal  even  to  Seventeen  Penny  half-penny  Weight, 
as  to  the  Publick  Tax,  and  by  a  late  Act  of  the  General 
Assembly ,  they  are  made  a  good  Tender  in  the  Law,  as  to 
all  Debts  Contracted  in  the  Common  Course  of  Trade, 
and  by  that  means  upon  the  Matter,  made  of  an  Intrinsick 
Value,  and  so  the  Credit  of  ’em  Firm  and  Necessary. 

Thirdly .  The  Profits  in  Case  the  Government  Issue 
the  Bills,  will  always  Redound  to  the  Publick,  and  so 
every  one  will  have  a  Benefit  thereby.  And  again,  we  may 
reasonably  suppose,  that  the  Government  would  be  more 
Sparing  and  Cautious,  and  not  so  Lavish  in  Launching  out 
their  Bills,  as  a  Private  Bank  would  be,  not  being  under 
the  like  Temptation:  By  which  means  the  Credit  of  the 
Bills  would  be  the  better  preserved.  Besides  which,  the 
Province  has  once  and  again  made  good  Counterfeits,  and 
further  provided  against  ’em,  as  you  may  see  by  a  Private 
Act  made  in  the  Third  Year  of  the  late  Reign,  and  a  Pub¬ 
lick  Act  made  the  very  last  Session  of  the  Assembly : 
Whereas  there  is  no  Provision  at  all  against  Counterfeits 
in  this  Private  Projection.  And  to  mention  no  more  upon 
this  Head,  the  Fund  of  the  Publick  Bills  of  Credit,  being 
the  Province  in  General,  according  to  the  ordinary  Course 
of  Things,  can  never  be  doubted,  or  in  Danger. 

[28]  I  know  very  well  what  the  Bankers  Object  to  all 
this,  viz. 

First .  That  as  by  the  Constitution,  it  is  in  the  Power  of 
the  Governour  and  Council  to  draw  out  the  Publick  Money, 
so  it  would  be  much  more  in  His  Power  to  lay  His 

VOL.  I  —  17 


2  5  8  Colonial  Currency 

Hand  on  the  Money  so  made  and  Let  out,  it  being 
not  raised  for  His  Majesties  Use,  and  Appropriated,  and 
thereby  Endanger,  the  Liberties  of  the  People.  To  this 
I  Answer,  First,  That  according  to  the  Scheme  agreed 
on,  and  Reported  by  the  Committee ,  The  Principal  and 
Profits  of  that  Money  were  so  Settled  and  Secured,  that 
nothing  less  than  the  General  Assembly  could  Dispose 
of  either.  Secondly.  As  the  Projectors  have  Ordered 
their  Bank ,  2000  /.  of  their  Yearly  Profits  they  design  to 
present  to  the  Government:  Now  what  they  mean  by  that, 
is  uncertain.  First,  If  they  mean  a  Governour  that  they 
shall  please  to  like,  I’m  sure  it  would  be  a  very  effectual  way 
to  Enslave  this  Country,  by  an  understanding  between  such 
Governour  and  the  Bank .  Secondly.  If  they  intend  the 
General  Assembly ,  then  I  say  as  in  the  Memorial \  That  this 
Government  neither  can  nor  ought  to  be  Maintained  in  any 
other  Method,  than  by  the  Charter ,  and  Instructions  from 
the  Crown . 

Secondly .  That  the  Government  have  no  Power  to  do 
any  such  thing,  as  to  Make  and  [29]  Lend  out  any  Publick 
Bills ;  but  with  what  design  they  make,  and  how  well  they 
Enforce  this  Objection,  I  leave  the  World  to  Judge,  and 
with  their  Favour,  I  should  think  the  General  Assembly  as 
Capable  of  knowing  and  understanding  their  own  Powers, 
as  the  Projectors  for  ’em.  I  am  sure  it  was  the  Opinion  of 
the  Committee  beforementioned,  That  the  Ge?ieral  Assembly 
of  the  Province,  were  sufficiently  Impowered  by  the  Charter , 
whenever  the  necessary  Support  of  the  Government  required 
it,  to  Make  and  Issue  these  Bills  of  Credit  in-  the  Method 
then  Proposed.  And  their  Opinion  was  Founded  upon 
that  Clause  in  the  Charter ,  referring  to  imposing  reasonable 


259 


Reprint 

Assessments ,  Taxes,  &c.  In  the  necessary  Defence  and  Slip- 
port  of  the  Government,  and  the  Protection,  and  Preservation 
of  the  Inhabitants  there,  &c. 

Now  First,  There’s  nothing  in  the  Charter  Repugnant  to 
the  Governments  Issuing  a  further  Sum  of  Bills .  Secondly, 
It  has  been  done,  once  and  again,  upon  great  Occasions, 
and  the  Government  not  blamed  for  it,  that  I  know  of. 
Thirdly,  If  the  necessary  Support  of  the  Government  of 
this  Province,  and  the  Preservation  of  the  People,  (for  those 
are  the  Words  of  the  Charter )  require  the  Making  and 
Issuing  a  further  Quantity,  then  ’tis  directly  within,  and 
well  Warranted  by  the  Charter.  Now  I  think  we  are  all 
agreed  in  this,  That  neither  [30]  the  Government  nor  People 
(as  to  their  Trade  and  Business)  can  well  be  Supported  and 
carry  on  their  necessary  Affairs  much  longer,  without  a 
further  Supply  of  Money,  or  Bills  of  Credit .  Besides  which, 
the  Projectors  would  do  well  to  tell  us,  how  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  they  should  have  so  great  a  Power  of  Supplying  the 
People  with  Money,  and  the  General  Assembly  have  none 
at  all.  But  certainly,  if  the  Bankers  are  so  wise  -and 
Cautious  to  the  Powers  of  Government,  for  fear  they  should 
be  exceeded,  and  the  Constitution  thereby  Endangered ;  it 
much  more  behoves  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province, 
to  Exercise  this  Caution,  with  respect  to  this  Projection, 
and  effectually  secure  the  Honour  and  Safety  of  the  Gov¬ 
ernment,  the  Estates  and  Liberties  of  the  People,  which  is 
the  very  thing  I  Contend  for,  And  that  which  Comforts  me 
in  what  I  have  said  and  done  upon  this  Occasion,  whatever 
the  Event  prove,  is,  That  I  have  had  no  Private  View,  or 
Seperate  Interest,  much  less  any  Prejudice  to  the  Gentlemen 
concerned;  among  whom  I  have  many  particular  Friends; 


260  Colonial  Currency 

but  have  Sincerely  aim’d  at  the  Publick  Good.  SIR ,  It 
was  the  Excellent  Character  of  the  Heads  of  the  Tribe  of 
Issachar ,  in  DavicCs  Time,  and  Recorded  for  their  Honour, 
and  our  Imitation,  That  they  were  Men  of  Understanding 
in  the  [31]  Times,  to  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do,  &c.  I 
earnestly  Desire,  and  Believe,  That  the  Heads  of  our  Tribes 
like  them,  upon  this  great  Occasion,  may  and  will  Discern 
both  Time  and  Judgment;  know  and  seek  the  true  Interest 
of  their  Country :  And  I  shall  be  glad,  if  I  may  in  any  wise 
contribute  to  so  good  an  End,  by  what  I  have  here  Offered. 
You’ll  please  to  Excuse  the  Trouble  of  this  long  Letter, 
and  Communicate  it  as  you  think  Proper. 

I  am,  SIR , 

Your  very  Humble 

Boston,  October  22.  and  Affectionate  Servant 

I3ri4-  P.  Dudley 


POSTSCRIPT. 

SINCE  the  Date  and  Delivery  of  this  Letter,  I  under¬ 
stand  the  Bankers  have  new  Modelled  their  Projection, 
and  Reformed  it,  as  they  reckon,  in  two  Articles : 
But  how  long  this  new  Scheme  will  hold,  is  uncertain.  First. 
Instead  of  Four,  [32]  they  now  propose  to  have  Five  per 
Cent.  Interest ;  but  they  would  do  well  to  tell  us  by  what 
Law,  or  with  what  Justice  they  can  pretend  to  ask  or  receive 
one  per  Cent,  or  indeed  any  Interest  at  all,  for  their  own 
Bills,  which  (as  before  is  observed)  are  nothing  in  themselves, 
have  not  the  Foundation,  the  Advantage  and  Value  of  the 
Publick  Bills  of  Credit  on  the  Province,  nor  ever  can  with- 


Note 


261 


out  the  Government,  and  must  be  wholly  obliged  to  the 
Borrowers  for  their  present  worth  or  Currency.  And  I  be¬ 
lieve  this  is  the  first  time  that  ever  Interest  was  asked  for 
any  sort  of  Money  or  Bills  that  had  not  the  Stamp  or  Au¬ 
thority  of  a  Government. 

Secondly .  They  have  Reformed  the  Fund  also,  in  obliging 
the  Subscribers  to  give  in  Real  Security,  to  the  Value  of 
200  000  /.  the  full  sum  of  the  Bills  proposed  to  be  made,  and 
so  not  to  be  obliged  to  the  Borrowers  for  any  part  of  the 
Fund.  I  confess,  there  seems  to  be  some  Justice  in  this, 
and  serves  to  prove,  that  there  was  Reason  and  Weight  in 
my  first  Objection  to  the  Nature  and  Frame  of  the  Bank\ 
And  when  they  have  Answered  the  rest,  and  made  a  thorow 
Reform  of  their  Projection,  so  as  it  may  be  Consistent  with 
the  Honour  and  Safety  of  the  Government,  the  Liberties 
and  Properties  of  the  People,  and  agreeable  to  the  Rules  of 
Reason,  Justice  and  Equity,  I  believe  every  one  will  Encour¬ 
age  and  give  in  to  it. 

FINIS. 

* 

NOTE  TO  “OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  BANK  OF  CREDIT,”  etc. 

Paul  Dudley,  the  author  of  this  pamphlet,  was  the  son  of  Governor 
Dudley,  and  was  at  that  time  attorney-general  of  the  province.  He 
was  in  the  course  of  his  career  a  member  of  the  house  several  times, 
and  was  also  elected  a  number  of  times  to  the  council.  He  was  ap¬ 
pointed  a  justice  of  the  superior  court  of  judicature  after  serving  as 
attorney-general,  and  at  the  time  when  Admiral  Knowles  brought  his 
libel  suit  against  Dr.  Douglass,  because  of  the  libellous  attack  on 
him  in  the  original  edition  of  the  “  Summary,”  Dudley  was  chief 
justice  of  that  court.1  He  was  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  was 


1  Publications  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  229. 


262 


Colonial  Currency 

a  learned  naturalist  He  established  a  course  of  lectures  at  Harvard 
College,  designating  the  subjects,  and  the  administration  of  this 
foundation  is  to-day  a  source  of  perplexity  to  the  authorities  of  that 
institution.  For  a  sketch  of  his  life  see  Appletons’  Cyclopaedia  of 
American  Biography. 

He  refers  in  the  pamphlet  to  a  memorial  presented  by  him  “  last 
summer  ’’  to  the  governor  and  council.  The  News  Letter  of  August 
23,  1714,  contains  an  announcement  of  the  action  of  the  council  taken 
August  20,  upon  reading  a  memorial  presented  by  the  queen’s  attor- 
ney-general.  This  was  in  effect  an  order  that  the  projectors  or  un¬ 
dertakers  of  the  proposed  bank,  do  not  proceed  to  print  the  scheme,  or 
to  put  it  on  public  record,  or  to  make  or  emit  any  notes  or  bills,  until 
they  shall  have  laid  their  proposals  before  the  general  assembly. 

The  pamphlet  is  a  i6mo.  of  thirty- two  pages  including  the  post¬ 
script,  the  leaves  at  present  measuring  5-J  X  3i  inches.  The  copy 
and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were  originally  procured  for  “Tracts 
relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc.,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Boston 
Public  Library.1  On  page  19  of  this  copy  of  the  pamphlet  some 
person  has  drawn  a  line  through  the  word  “  Interest  ”  and  written 
“  Bills.”  The  correction  should  obviously  be  made.  The  word  in 
question  is  the  thirty-sixth  on  page  19. 

John  Burril,  a  resident  of  Essex  County,  to  whom,  as  speaker  of  the 
house,  the  “  Objections  ”  were  addressed  in  form  of  a  letter,  was 
a  prominent  man,  who  was  much  respected  by  his  neighbors  and  left 
behind  him  an  enviable  reputation  as  an  upright,  just  citizen  who 
devoted  a  large  part  of  his  life  to  public  service.  He  was  town  clerk 
for  thirty-one  years,  representative  for  twenty-two  years,  speaker  of 
the  house  for  ten  years,  besides  having  filled  the  position  of  coun¬ 
cillor  and  served  upon  the  bench  as  a  justice  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas.  Hutchinson  left  on  record  a  statement  of  the  high  opinion 
in  which  he  was  held  by  his  contemporaries.2 

1  It  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  the  John  Carter 
Brown  Library,  and  the  Library  of  Congress. 

2  History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  II,  p.  212  ;  Lewis  and  Newhall’s  History  of 
Lynn,  p.  489. 


From  One  in 


To  his  Friend  in  the 


J 

*  A 


In  Anfwer  to  a  Letter  directed  to 

John  Burn l ,  Efqr. 

Speaker  to  the  Houfe  of  Re 
prefentatives,  for  the  Pro 
vince  of  the  MafachuJ' 
Bay  in  New- England, 


Printed  in  the  Year  1714. 


•:! 


, 

,  *  % 
■  ■  i> 

.  '«>■  * 


. 

v'!‘i 


V  -  f  \,i  f? 

v 

t-**  :>■ 
i'iV  «  'K-'i 


.  V 

,  . 


i-, 


LETTER, 

( 

From  One  in 

boston. 

To  his  Friend  in  the 

Country. 

In  Anfwer  to  a  Letter  directed  to 

"John  Burril,  Efqr. 

Speaker  to  the  Houfe  of  Re- 
prefentatives,  for  the  Pro¬ 
vince  of  the  Maffachufetts- 
Bay  in  New-England. 


Printed  in  the  Year  1714. 


264 


Colonial  Currency 

[1] 


SIR, 


UPON  your  so  earnestly  repeating  your  Desire  to 
me,  to  give  you  my  Thoughts  or  the  Thoughts 
of  the  Gentlemen  of  this  Town,  relating  to  the 
Bank  of  Credit  Projected;  and  to  a  Letter  di¬ 
rected  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
against  it,  and  the  Objections  made  against  it  with  no  com¬ 
mon  Applause,  cryed  up  by  the  Court  Interest  as  Unanswer¬ 
able;  tho  I  readily  acknowledge  my  self  as  unfit  a  Person 
as  you  could  have  Writ  to  about  it,  being  not  concerned 
with  the  Gentlemen  in  the  Projection,  and  but  little  conver¬ 
sant  with  them,  and  in  that  I  pretend  to  little  or  no  acquaint¬ 
ance  in  State  Affairs,  or  in  Trade;  yet  when  I  sat  my  self 
down  to  Read  that  Letter,  it  appeared  to  me  so  trifling,  and 
below  the  Character  of  the  Gentleman  that  Subscribed  it; 
that  it  confirmed  me  in  my  thoughts,  that  the  Cause  was  not 
so  good,  as  some  Others  he  has  pleaded,  and  invited  me  in  a 
few  Remarks  to  comply  with  your  Request. 

I  frankly  acknowledge,  that  I  have  been  sometime  of  the 
Opinion,  that  a  Bank  of  Cre-[2]dit,  well  Founded  and  well 
Regulated,  would  be  of  the  greatest  Advantage  imaginable 
to  this  Country ;  and  therefore  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  me, 
when  I  first  understood  that  a  Number  of  Valuable  Gentle¬ 
men  were  Concerting  proper  measures  to  accomplish  so  de¬ 
sirable  an  end.  But  I  must  confess  my  self  to  have  been  at 
a  Loss  when  they  had  given  the  finishing  stroke  to  their  first 
Scheme,  wherein  I  apprehend  they  had  left  the  foundation 
too  fluctuating  and  changeable  for  a  Land  Bank,  and  that, 
tho’  the  Possessor  of  the  Bills  Emitted,  had  good  Security, 


Reprint  265 

yet  it  seemed  to  me  that  they  had  not  secured  it  well 
against  one  another,  but  had  left  it  too  precarious  and  de¬ 
pendent  on  the  Caprice  of  every  Accident,  and  the  Probity 
and  Justice  of  they  knew  not  who,  which  might  come  after 
them,  yet  I  am  very  ready  to  excuse  them  that  they  did  not 
arrive  to  the  best  method  in  their  first  Essay ;  but  since  this 
great  Mistake  is  Corrected  in  their  last  Model,  viz.  by  every 
ones  Mortgaging  a  Real  Estate  in  proportion  to  the  Interest 
he  is  to  have  in  the  Bank,  and  so  to  abide  during  its  Contin¬ 
uance  ;  hereby  there  is  suitable  provision  made  not  only  for 
the  Credit  of  their  Bills  and  Notes,  but  a  sufficient  Obliga¬ 
tion  upon  them  to  do  Justice  to  each  other,  &  to  every  man 
that  shall  be  concerned  with  them,  in  case  the  Bank  or  Part¬ 
nership  shall  come  to  an  end;  which  the  Author  of  the  [3] 
Letter  himself  allows  to  be  good ;  which  in  my  Opinion  be¬ 
fore  was  not :  All  that  I  have  to  do  is  to  blow  off  the  Cloud 
of  Dust  and  Smoke,  which  the  Author  of  the  Letter  has 
covered  the  Bank  with ;  that  when  it  comes  to  stand  in  its 
native  light,  we  may  be  the  better  able  to  pass  a  Judgment 
upon  it;  and  that  I  may  have  the  advantage  of  standing  on 
my  own  ground,  (and  be  freed  from  the  incumbrance  of 
making  good  any  of  his)  it  will  not  be  improper  to  tell  you, 
how  far  I  can  agree  with  the  Author  of  that  Letter,  viz. 
That  the  People  as  to  their  Trade  and  Business ,  cannot  well 
carry  on  their  necessary  Affairs  much  longer ,  without  a  fur¬ 
ther  Supply  of  Money ,  or  Bills  of  Credit ,  page  30.  But  there 
is  a  necessity  of  supplying  the  People  with  a  further  convenient 
quantity  of  Bills  of  Credit ,  page  26.  The  Question  then  is, 
Whether  the  Publick  shall  Emit  these  Bills  of  Credit;  or 
whether  it  had  not  better  be  done  by  a  Company  of  men  in 
the  nature  of  a  Private  Bank  of  Credit.  I  agree  with  the 


266  Colonial  Currency 

Author  also  in  this,  That  I  am  not  against  a  Bank  of  Credit 
in  general \  were  it  well  founded, \  well  regulated ,  page  26.  I 
leave  out  the  words  (by  the  Government,)  because  the  Con¬ 
sideration,  whether  by  the  Government,  or  otherwise  comes 
under  the  foregoing  Quaery;  so  that  the  Question  here  is 
Whether  or  no  this  Projection  for  a  Bank  of  [4]  Credit  be 
well  Founded well  Limited \  and  Regulated ?  And  here  I 
cannot  avoid  doing  the  Gentlemen  that  Justice  to  say  what 
some  of  their  Number  have  informed  me,  namely  that  when 
they  first  waited  on  his  Excellency  with  their  first  Scheme, 
they  were  desired  to  leave  the  Limitation  to  the  General 
Court,  that  it  was  a  proper  Compliment  to  pay  them,  to  de¬ 
sire  them  to  set  the  Sum,  which  was  one  reason  why  there 
was  no  Limitation ;  but  this  by  the  way. 

We  agree  thirdly,  That  the  Projection  of  a  Bank  of  Credit , 
very  much  imports  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown ,  the  Consti¬ 
tution  and  Laws  of  the  Province ,  the  Estates  and  Liberties  of 
the  People ;  and  that  not  only  for  the  present ,  but  Succeeding 
Generations ,  page  4.  For  I  take  it,  that  the  word  import 
when  so  used,  generally  means  to  be  of  advantage;  however 
to  deal  fairly,  it  shall  be  the  question,  Whether  it  imports  to 
their  advantage  or  disadvantage ,  and  which  does  most  of  all 
import  them ,  the  Publick  or  the  Private  Bank  ?  I  agree  with 
him  also,  That  it  behooves  the  Government  and  General  As¬ 
sembly  of  the  Province,  and  really  concerns  every  man,  that 
has  any  Interest  in  the  Country,  with  great  application  to  en¬ 
quire  into,  and  seriously  consider  the  Nature  and  Consequences 
of  this  Bank  or  P artnership,  page  4.  And  so  Sir,  I  am  suf¬ 
ficiently  warranted  to  make  my  Enquiry,  and  endeavour  to 
set  things  in  a  true  light;  but  to  find  [5]  these  things 
wherein  we  agree  so  confusedly  jumbled  together  as  they  are 


Reprint  267 

in  Mr.  Attorneys  Letter,  that  they  might  appear  a  sort  of 
dark  Arguments  against  a  Bank  of  Credit,  is  such  a  fine 
Amusement  to  the  ignorant  and  Injudicious  Reader,  and 
such  an  odd  way  of  reasoning,  that  we  could  have  expected 
it  from  none,  but  he  that  had  lost  his  own  eyes,  or  thought 
every  body  else  was  blind.  And  to  be  plain,  when  I  heard 
of  such  a  Letter  published  in  Mr.  Attorneys  Name,  I  ex¬ 
pected  to  find  the  strongest  Arguments,  and  the  fairest  Plead¬ 
ings  that  could  be,  against  the  Private  Bank  of  Credit,  from 
a  Gentleman  of  so  bright  Parts,  and  so  Learned  in  the  Law 
as  is  his  general  Character:  Yet  I  must  assure  you,  that  I 
had  not  read  over  the  first  page,  before  I  had  altered  my 
mind,  and  received  this  settled  Idea  of  the  whole  Piece ;  that 
I  should  find  nothing  in  it  but  Evasions,  Doublings  and 
Misrepresentations,  and  some  few  amusements ;  for  I  was 
astonished  to  see  so  fair  (not  to  say  false)  a  light  given  to 
the  Order  of  the  Governour  and  Council,  which  being  Pub- 
lick,  every  one  has  the  opportunity  to  see  and  judge  of  the 
fallacy.  He  tells  us,  page  3.  That  the  Projectors  were  di¬ 
rected  to  proceed  no  further  in  the  Affair ,  till  the  next  Ses¬ 
sions  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  notwithstanding  all  which 
(/  am  loth  to  say  in  contempt  of  it)  the  persons  concerned  are 
openly  carrying  on  their  Bank  with  utmost  Vigour  and  [6] 
Expedition .  How  could  he  Sir,  so  openly  give  us  this  wrong 

Account  of  the  matter?  My  News-Letter  Printed  by 

» 

Authority,  August  23.  tells  me,  that  upon  Reading,  &c . 
Ordered,  That  the  Projectors  or  Undertakers  of  any  such 
Bank ,  do  not  proceed  to  Print  the  Scheme ,  or  put  the  same  on 
Publick  Record ,  Make  or  Emit  any  of  their  Notes  or  Bills , 
until  they  have  laid  their  Proposals  before  the  General  A  ssem- 
bly  of  this  Her  Majesties  Province ,  who  are  always  ready  to 


268 


Colonial  Currency 


Encourage  and  Countenance  any  Proposals ,  &c.  I.  A.  Seer. 
Which  Order,  as  it  was  far  from  forbidding  their  proceeding 
any  further  in  the  Affair;  as  to  the  digesting  their  thoughts  . 
upon  it,  and  filling  up  their  Number,  &c.  but  rather  sup¬ 
pos’d  they  ought  to  wade  through  all  the  difficulties,  and 
bring  their  Scheme  to  its  perfection,  that  it  might  be  fit  to 
lay  before  the  General  Assembly;  so  was  it,  as  I  have  been 
well  informed,  in  every  Article  complied  with,  in  Duty  to 
the  Government ;  and  even  to  this  day  have  neither  Printed 
their  Scheme,  Put  it  on  Publick  Record,  Made,  nor  Emitted 
any  of  their  Notes  or  Bills;  so  that  really  Sir,  what  has  been 
done  by  the  Projectors,  won’t  bear  so  much,  as  a,  notwith¬ 
standing,  much  less,  a ,  loth  to  say  in  contempt .  Indeed,  I 
have  heard  it  whispered,  that  they  have  thought  the  Order 
very  hard,  in  that  they  were  denied  the  benefit  of  the  Press, 
and  the  benefit  of  Publick  Records,  [7]  which  I  shall  leave : 
And  now  Sir,  after  so  plain,  and  publickly  known,  a  false 
Comment,  upon  the  Order  of  the  Governour  and  Council, 
and  the  Actions  of  the  projectors  in  the  very  Entrance  of  the 
Letter;  what  can  be  lookt  for,  but  Arguments  of  the  same 
Kidney  thro’  the  whole :  And  I  Confess  when  I  had  Read 
the  Letter  out,  I  should  verily  have  thought  it  had  been 
Calculated  to  Lull  the  Government  into  a  profound  Sleep, 
if  I  had  not  remembred  that  he  said  page  5.  his  design  was 
to  Awaken  it;  so  easily  do  we  mistake  things  till  we  are  in¬ 
formed  better.  But  not  to  give  you  or  my  self  any  further 
trouble  about  the  design  of  it,  believing  it  is  not  laid  so 
deep,  but  your  penetration  without  being  put  to  the  Wreck 
will  fathom  it.  I  Return  to  the  first  Enquiry,  since  ’tis 
agreed  there  is  a  necessity  of  a  certain  number  of  Bills  of 
Credit,  or  Notes  to  be  Emitted,  as  a  Medium  in  Trade,  viz . 


Reprint  269 

Who  shall  Emit  these  Bills  ?  Had  the  Government  of  the 
Country  best  take  it  on  themselves  ?  or  would  it  not  be  safer 
to  permit  particular  Persons  in  Partnership  to  Issue  out, 
and  give  a  Currency  to  their  own  Notes,  founded  on  their 
Lands,  under  the  name  of  a  Bank  of  Credit?  This  is  the 
main  Enquiry  which  now  falls  under  every  Bodies  Examina¬ 
tion,  and  becomes  the  debate  of  the  Town  this  Winter  Sea¬ 
son  ;  and  that  I  may  give  you  my  thoughts  upon  it  freely,  I 
say  [8]  with  all  due  Deference  to  Government,  by  all  means 
let  the  Government  Notes,  Emitted  to  pay  the  Publick  Dues, 
and  called  in  by  Taxes  granted  as  a  Fund  for  them,  have  all 
possible  Honour  and  Credit  amongst  us ;  and  if  in  their 
great  wisdom  they  should  see  meet  to  make  it  a  Publick 
Charge,  to  Emit  a  certain  number  of  their  Notes  in  Erecting 
a  Bridge  over  Charles- River,  and  make  it  a  Toll  Bridge,  with 
suitable  Allowances  to  the  Colledge  at  present;  and  sup¬ 
pose  that  Forty  Thousand  Pounds  were  Issued  out  to  make 
it  a  substantial  and  firm  Bridge  ;  and  that  a  Toll  upon  every 
thing  passing  and  carried  over,  should  be  a  Fund  to  Call 
them  in  gradually ;  and  after  that  it  had  cleared  it  self,  it 
should  be  taken  off  from  Passengers,  and  left  only  for  Carts, 
Horses,  &c.  And  the  Colledge  have  the  Income  for  ever,  or 
any  such  Publick  Charge,  as  Fortifying  the  principal  Town 
by  Sea,  Erecting  Stone  Fortifications  or  Garrisons  on  the 
Frontiers,  or  Erecting  Light  Houses,  for  the  Security  of 
Trade;  and  the  Re-settling  the  Eastern  Parts  of  the  Country 
in  a  Defensible  manner,  in  giving  a  Bounty  for  the  encour¬ 
aging  the  Sowing,  water-rotting,  and  well  curing  of  Hemp; 
the  encouraging  them  that  should  make  the  best  pieces  of 
Hollands-Duck :  Which  two  Articles  alone,  it  is  thought 
might  so  effect  the  ballance  of  our  Trade,  as  to  bring  us  in 


2  70  Colonial  Currency 

Silver  Money ;  especially  if  a  Reward  of  Three  Pounds  [9] 
per  Head  were  given  for  all  Male  White  Servants,  that  shall 
be  imported  into  this  Province,  and  Bound  out  from  the  Age 
of  Ten  to  Eighteen  Years;  the  Reward  to  continue  the 
Term  of  Twenty  Years;  and  this  would  furnish  us  with 
Sailors,  with  Labourers  in  Husbandry  &  Fishery,  &  Soldiers 
for  our  Defence,  whose  Polls  in  a  few  years  would  pay  it  in : 
And  whereas  now  they  are  Sold  for  a  Term  of  years,  for 
Fifteen  and  Twenty  pounds  a  Head ;  such  a  certain  Reward 
would  induce  men  to  bring  in  such  Numbers,  that  they  would 
be  Sold  for  Five  Pounds ,  as  they  are  in  Pensilvajiia  and 
other  Places,  where  such  certain  Encouragements  have  been 
given.  The  Debts  Contracted  by  these  Emissions  would 
be  the  real  Credit  of  the  Country,  both  Serviceable  and  Hon¬ 
ourable,  the  Strength,  Support,  &  External  Glory  of  a  Coun¬ 
try;  and  whereas  the  Trade  wants  a  Medium  to  Circulate  it, 
there  would  be  no  necessity  of  Laying  heavy  Taxes,  &  the 
Funds  might  be  carried  forwards  as  the  Government  would 
see  cause;  for  I  believe  by  this  time  most  men  of  thought 
may  see,  that  since  Paper  Notes  are  our  only  Medium,  that 
Day  we  are  out  of  Debt,  we  are  out  of  Credit,  and  must 
unavoidably  sink,  unless  there  should  be  found  out  some 
other  way  to  save  us  from  Ruin.  So  the  Question  comes 
the  fairer  in  view,  Whether  is  the  better  of  the  Two ,  a  Pub- 
lick  or  a  Private  Bank  ? 

[10]  I  shall  therefore  in  the  next  Plac£,  give  you  those 
Reasons  that  are  of  weight  with  me  against  a  Publick  Bank, 
and  Rescue  the  Private  from  the  Authors  Objections:  For 
these  Reasons  may  not  the  Publick  Bank  be  Objected 
against?  May  there  not  be  a  danger  if  the  Publick  should 
go  on  to  Emit  Bills  on  Interest,  that  it  will  be  too  great  an 


271 


Reprint 

Invasion  of  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown :  For  I  am  apt  to 
think  every  body  will  grant,  that  the  Stamping  of  Money  is 
a  Royalty  invested  in  the  Crown ;  and  I  am  prone  to  im¬ 
agine,  that  Bills  Emitted  by  Publick  Authority  to  Lend  at 
Interest,  will  carry  with  them  many  signatures  of  Money; 
especially  since  the  Act  of  this  Province  makes  them  a 
Legal  Tender,  so  far  as  no  man  may  be  Imprison’d  for  Debt 
that  Tenders  them ;  especially  if  we  Consider  the  difference 
in  the  Emission  of  these  Bank  Bills,  that  they  are  not  paid 
out  of  the  Treasury,  as  the  Notes  Obligatory  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  to  those  they  were  Indebted  unto,  with  the  Publick 
Faith,  plighted  to  Call  them  in  by  Taxes ;  and  so  tho’  they 
are  of  the  same  Tenour,  yet  the  manner  of  the  Emission, 
with  that  Law  cited,  gives  them  the  character  of  real 
Money;  for  I  cannot  perswade  my  self  to  say  with  Mr.  Attor¬ 
ney^  that  nothing  can  be  Money  properly,  but  Silver  and 
Gold,  because  that  both  Copper  &  Brass  have  had  the  Royal 
Stamp,  and  Copper  passes  in  small  Payments,  as  other 
Money  in  [11]  Great  Britain  at  this  day ;  and  I  have  also 
heard,  that  Leather  was  once  the  current  Coin  of  Rome : 
And  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  think,  if  the  Crown  of  Eng¬ 
land  saw  cause,  they  could  make  Paper  Bills,  so  stamped,  as 
properly  Money,  as  any  Money  whatsoever.  Now  is  there 
not  ground  to  fear,  when  the  Sovereign  has  been  pleased  to 
indulge  us  with  the  Priviledges  of  Emitting  Publick  Notes 
for  the  defraying  the  necessary  Charge  in  the  Defence  and 
Support  of  the  Government,  and  to  Confine  us  to  those  Oc¬ 
casions  in  the  Taxes  and  Assessments  allowed  to  be  made  on 
the  Inhabitants;  would  it  not  be  looked  on  as  an  Incroach- 
*  ment  in  very  deed  on  the  Royal  Prerogative  for  us  to  exceed, 
and  what  the  Consequence  of  that  will  be,  you  are  a  much 


272  Colonial  Currency 

better  Judge  than  I  am;  (and  I  have  been  informed  that  the 
Gentlemen  concerned,  have  had  Letters  from  their  Friends 
at  Home,  advising  that  by  no  means  the  Government  would 
be  Concerned  in  such  a  Fund)  but  if  it  should  not  in  all  the 
signatures  of  Money  be  a  direct  Invasion  of  the  Prerogative, 
on  the  account  of  its  being  really  Money,  yet  would  it  not 
be  a  going  beyond  our  .Last  ?  and  a  doing  what  we  had  no 
power  or  warrant  for ;  for  I  look  upon  it  a  weak  &  foolish 
plea,  some  peoples  mouths  are  filled  with,  viz .  That  we 
ought  not  to  debate  about  the  Power  of  the  Government 
that  it  tends  to  weaken  us,  and  that  there  are  [12]  enough 
that  do  that,  and  the  like.  I  think  the  way  to  have  our 
Powers  rendred  strong  &  durable,  would  be  to  Consider 
what  they  are,  and  use  them,  and  not  go  to  the  brink,  or 
one  hairs  breadth  beyond  them :  And  truly  I  fear  there  is 
some  design  in  raising  all  this  smother,  to  blindfold  us,  and 
lead  us  whence  we  cannot  so  easily  return.  I  take  it  that 
our  Charter  sets  us  the  bounds  of  our  Power,  and  tells  us 
how  far  we  may  go,  and  all  without  that  is  forbidden  ground ; 
now  it  is  plain  thing,  that  the  Governments  Emitting  Bills 
of  Publick  Credit  on  Interest,  is  not  to  be  found,  neither 
granted  or  warranted  by  the  Charter,  the  boundaries  thereof 
are  Assessments  and  Taxes ,  in  the  necessary  defence  and  sup¬ 
port  of  the  Government ,  and  the  protection  and  preservation 
of  the  Inhabitants  there.  ...  Mr.  Attorney  has  given  it  us, 
page  29.  He  was  so  well  apprized  of  this  Objection,  that  he 
lays  out  his  strength  to  remove  it;  tho’  I  think  he  has  not 
been  able  to  make  it  stir  one  inch.  He  tells  us,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  Charter  repugnant  to  the  Governments  Issuing 
a  further  supply  of  Bills ,  page  29.  It  is  very  {rue  upon  the 
Foot  or  Fund  of  Assessments,  as  they  have  been  hitherto 


Reprint  273 

Emitted,  for  Paying  the  Debts,  and  Defraying  the  necessary 
Charges  of  the  Province ;  but  once  for  all,  the  Charter  may 
well  be  allow’d  to  be  repugnant  to  all  that  is  not  fairly 
Contained  in  it.  He  says  secondly,  That  it  has  [13]  been 
done  once  and  again ,  on  great  Occasions ,  and  the  Government 
not  blamed for  it.  The  Government  has  Emitted  their  Bills 
to  pay  their  Debts,  but  never  to  Lend  at  Interest,  before  his 
Letter  was  written,  which  is  the  matter  in  Controversy. 
The  Bills  the  Merchants  Lent  to  the  Treasury,  and  the 
Treasury  in  Return  Lent  the  Merchants  by  Order  of  Gov¬ 
ernment  on  that  great  Emergency,  were  for  the  paying  Her 
Majesties  Soldiers,  and  would  not  have  been  Emitted,  but  in 
such  an  Extraordinary  Case,  and  upon  that  bottom,  so  that 
it  can  never  be  made  the  president  to  Lett  out  Bills  at  Inter¬ 
est:  and  then  he  would  perswade  us  (not  himself)  that  the 
words  the  necessary  Support  of  the  Government,  protection 
and  preservation  of  the  People,  will  allow  it,  and  so  forsooth 
with  an  (if)  it  is  &cra ,  then  it  comes  within  the  Charter; 
and  I  am  verily  perswaded  (if)  he  were  of  Councel  against  us, 
he  would  with  all  imaginable  Justice  declare,  as  every  reason¬ 
able  man  else  (especially  a  Gentleman  of  the  Law)  would, 
that  the  evident  meaning  of  these  words  are,  the  Charges  of 
the  Government  and  the  War,  even  all  such  Charge  as  the 
Inhabitants  shall  be  Assessed  and  Taxed  for,  and  that  they 
have  not  the  least  aspect  upon  a  Fund  for  Trade,  or  the 
supplying  the  People  with  a  Medium  of  Exchange,  &  there- 
[14]fore  his  thrusting  the  word,  Government,  and  into  a 
Parenthesis,  as  to  their  Trade  and  Business  into  the  Sentence 
at  page  30.  is  as  arrant  a  piece  of  Sophistry  as  can  be,  akin 
to  his  fore-mentioned  Arguments,  and  what  I  told  you  at 
first  you  must  look  for;  I  readily  grant  the  General  Court 

VOL.  I  —  18 


274  Colonial  Currency 

here  must  be  Judges  of  their  own  Power;  and  there  is  no 
Doubt  but  that  it  is  possible  also  they  may  have  been,  by 
this  Letter  under  the  Attorney  Generals  Hand,  induced  to 
believe  that  they  have  more  than  really  they  have.  I  am  in¬ 
formed,  that  in  May  Sessions,  the  Sufferers  by  the  late 
dreadful  Fire  applied  to  them  for  Relief  to  Lend  them 
Money  on  their  Lands,  they  did  not  apprehend  it  in  their 
prudent  Power  so  to  do ;  &  some  of  as  good  Councel  as  any 
in  this  Province,  have  declared  it  as  their  Opinion,  that  the 
Country  had  not  the  Power  to  form  themselves  into  a  Pub- 
lick  Bank,  and  Emit  Money  at  Interest,  and  how  the  Wis¬ 
dom  of  the  General  Assembly  came  to  be  of  that  side,  I  can 
not  say  whether  it  is  hard  or  easy  to  guess. 

I  cannot  help  reciting  the  words  of  the  Charter  here: 
We  do,  &c.  Give ,  Grant ,  &c.  To  Make ,  Ordain ,  and  Estab¬ 
lish  all  manner  of  Wholesome  and  Reasonable  Orders ,  Laws , 
Statutes ,  and  Ordinances ,  Directions  and  Instructions,  either 
with  Penalties  or  without,  so  as  the  same  be  not  repugnant  or 
contrary  to  the  Laws  of[  15]  this  our  Realm  of  England,  as 
they  shall  judge  to  be  for  the  Good  and  Welfare  *of  our  said 
Province  or  Territory  .  ...  A  nd  for  the  Welfare,  Support, 
and  Defence  of  the  Government  thereof.  And  a  little  after 
this  General  Clause,  comes  the  Power  of  Imposing  Taxes. 
To  Impose  and  Levy  proportionable  and  reasonable  Assess¬ 
ments,  Rates  and  Taxes  upon  the  Estates,  and  Persons,  of  all, 
and  every  the  Proprietors ,  or  inhabitants  of  our  said  Prov¬ 
ince,  or  Territory  to  be  Issued  and  Disposed  of  by  Warrant , 
under  the  Hand  of  the  Governour  of  our  said  Province,  for 
the  time  being,  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Council, 
for  our  Service  in  the  necessary  Defence  and  Support  of  our 
Government,  of  our  said  Province  or  Territory. 


275 


Reprint 

Upon  which,  and  the  Publicks  Emitting  Bills  of  Publick 
Credit  upon  Interest,  we  may  make  a  few  Remarks,  for  the 
Investigating  of  Truth,  so  much  embarrassed  by  the  Letter. 

1.  In  the  first  place  then,  I  would  Remark,  That  by  the 
Charter  we  have  a  Power  to  impose  reasonable  Taxes,  to  be 
disposed  of  by  Warrant  under  the  Hand  of  the  Governour, 
with  Consent  of  the  Council  for  Defence  and  support  of  the 
Government,  &c.  This  being  our  Power  and  Limitation, 
no  Act  of  ours  can  alter  the  Power  of  Disposing :  for  the  fol¬ 
lowing  words  according  to  such  Acts,  can  be  understood  I 
presume,  no  otherwise  than  for  the  Uses  Raised,  yet  no 
ways  alters  the  foregoing  Clause  of  the  Governours  and 
Councils  Power  of  Judging  &  Disposing  of  it. 

2.  That  the  Clause  for  Imposing  and  Levying  [16]  Taxes 
coming  after  the  General  Power  of  Making  Laws  in  the 
Charter;  can  be  I  think  understood  in  no  other  sense  than  a 
Limitation  of  the  foregoing  Power,  and  the  path  of  our 
Duty,  in  that  of  Taxing  the  People. 

3.  That  the  Credit  of  every  Freeholder  is  as  much  his 
Property  as  his  Lands.  Suppose  a  man  gives  his  Obligatory 
Bill  or  Note  to  pay  an  Hundred  Pounds  on  Demand,  or  to 
take  again  in  Payments  tho’  he  does  it  to  serve  a  Friend  in 
Distress,  yet  so  passing  his  Bill  in  his  own  Name,  becomes 
the  principal  Debtor,  and  the  Possessor  can  look  for  no 
other,  though  the  Person  takes  private  Security  for  himself. 

If  the  General  Court  Emit  Bills  Obligatory  upon  the 
Province,  whether  they  are  not  bound  in  Justice  and  Honour 
to  make  them  good  as  much  as  private  men ;  and  whether  it 
is  not  creating  a  Debt  upon  the  Province  for  such  Sums  as 
shall  be  so  Emitted,  which  they  must  make  good  to  the  Pos- 


276  Colonial  Currency 

sessor,  which  is  a  burden,  and  may  be  called  a  Tax  with  a 
Witness.  Now  it  may  well  be  Quaeried,  How  far  a  Repre¬ 
sentative  Body  or  Free  State  has  a  power  over,  &  a  right  in 
the  Credit,  and  the  Properties  of  the  Principals  they  repre¬ 
sent  ?  Whether  a  free  People  submit  their  Estates  any 
further  to  their  Deputies,  than  to  pay  the  Proportion  of  the 
Charge  that  arises  for  their  mutual  support  and  Defence  ? 
Whether  it  would  not  be  entring  in  such  a  State  on  the 
Properties  of  every  particular  Person,  who  is  Lord  of  his 
Penny,  and  [17]  only  has  a  right  of  Disposing  of  his  own. 
It  is  true,  that  the  Representative  Body  are  said  to  be  the 
Keepers  of  the  Peoples  Purse ;  but  that  can  be  understood 
by  any  Freeman  I  believe  in  no  other  sence,  than  for  what 
it  is,  or  should  be  a  common  Charge ;  and  to  state  the  pro¬ 
portion,  if  it  is  questionable,  in  a  free  State:  May  it  not  be 
much  more  so  in  a  depending  Government,  whose  Powers 
are  Limited  by  Pattents,  and  are  accountable  for  Usurped 
Powers ;  but  some  say  the  Province  runs  no  risque,  for  they 
are  to  have  the  Profits,  which  are  four  &  an  half  per  Cent . 
for  all  Emitted,  which  will  pay  all  the  Charge  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  People  be  set  free  in  their  Taxes,  and  that 
they  may  gain  a  Stock  in  the  Treasury  ....  A  Golden  Bait. 
As  for  the  Risque  the  Province  runs  in  the  Principal  and 
Interest,  it  is  not  yet  determined  ;  it  is  judged  by  some,  and 
those  not  the  most  unthinking,  that  it  is  great ;  in  that  the 
Security  taken  by  the  Trustees  if  it  comes  to  be  sued  out, 
would  be  claimed  for  the  Crown  ;  for  in  our  Charter  we  have 
not,  as  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  had  in  his,  the  grant  of  that 
priviledge  of  the  Forfeitures  and  Reversions  of  Lands;  be¬ 
sides  the  Collusion  that  may  be  introduced,  by  suffering 
Lands  to  be  forfeited  and  redeemed  at  half  price;  that  as  to 


277 


Reprint 

the  Profits  and  Income  which  is  for  His  Majesties  Service 
in  the  Support  of  the  Government,  it  being  a  Revenue  to 
the  [18]  Crown  ;  how  natural  does  it  ly  instead  of  a  Salary  for 
a  Governour  to  ask  at  Home,  in  a  Line  or  two  of  Instructions 
for  himself  and  all  his  Officers,  as  Lieiitenant  Governour , 
Secretary ,  Judges ,  Attorney  General,  Captain  of  the  Castle, 
Surveyor  General,  & c  which  is  not  I  hope  the  end  intended, 
or  the  most  grateful :  Other  difficulties  referring  to  the  Bor¬ 
rower,  not  proper  to  be  mentioned  may  arise ;  the  Crown 
will  not  want  Occasions  of  Disposing  of  their  Revenues, 
which  may  seem  on  due  reflection  to  over-ballance  the  gains 
proposed:  May  it  not  be  thought  an  hazard,  if  they  should 
go  on  to  Emit  greater  Sums  on  such  a  foundation,  that  the 
Crown  may  be  invited  to  take  away  the  Charter,  and  that  for 
the  sake  of  the  Money  Emitted  as  forfeited?  And  may  not 
the  Confusion  be  better  thought  on  than  expressed  on  such 
en  event  ?  May  not  the  old  Maxim  be  of  use  to  us  here  ?  that 
in  doubtful  Cases  the  negative  is  the  safer.  I  am  in  duty 
bound,  to  suppose  what  has  been  done,  was  thought  neces¬ 
sary  by  the  Government  in  their  distress ;  unto  whom  I  am 
sensible  we  owe  all  possible  deference  and  respect;  and  I 
assure  you,  none  is  more  ready  to  pay  it  than  I  am ;  yet  in 
such  a  weighty  case,  truth  stands  the  clearer  in  view,  on  a 
free,  modest  and  rational  enquiry:  And  since  the  Interest 
arising  from  those  Bills  they  say  will  be  for  the  support  of 
the  Government,  if  they  will  take  the  Attorney  Gene-[19]ral’s 
Opinion ;  he  has  given  it,  page  28.  That  this  Government 
neither  can,  nor  ought  to  be  maintained  in  any  other  Method, 
than  by  the  Charter,  and  Instructions  from  the  Crow7i,  and  I 
presume  this  method  is  neither.  And  to  Conclude  this 
Argument,  we  have  heard  Sir,  of  Informations  in  the  nature 


278  Colonial  Currency 

of  Quo  Warranto  s ;  and  this  very  Country  has  felt  the  weight 
of  one,  and  upon  the  very  score  of  Invading  the  Prerogative 
in  the  Article  of  Money,  and  doing  what  was  said  we  had  no 
warrant  from  Charter  to  do;  and  certainly  no  Lover  of  this 
Country  can  wish  them  to  take  such  methods  as  may  be 
tho’t  to  put  it  in  any  hazard  of  a  second  Quo  warranto ;  no, 
none  but  such  as  have  not  scope  enough  already  to  get 
Money,  &c.  extending  Law  Suits,  to  the  enriching  none  but 
themselves.  I  assure  you  Sir,  I  am  the  plainer  on  these 
Heads,  in  that  I  value  the  Liberties  of  my  Country  so 
dearly,  as  never  to  esteem  such  its  best  Friends,  that  are 
willing  to  part  with  them ;  and  yet  does  not  the  disputable¬ 
ness  of  this  Power,  if  we  should  go  on  in  such  a  method, 
shew  that  at  least  we  run  the  risque  of  a  second ;  which  if  it 
should  take  place,  would  not  the  country  (and  with  just 
cause)  cry  out,  Ah !  why  did  the  Government  hearken  to 
Mr.  Attorney s  Letter?  Ah!  Mr.  Attorney ,  why  did  you  so 
amuse  and  slily  argue  them  into  it?  And  by  the  way,  the 
very  notion  of  a  second  Quo  warranto ,  confirms  what  I 
ground  much  of  this  [20]  Argument  upon,  viz.  that  what  is 
not  within  the  grant  of  the  Charter,  is  forbidden  to  us,  and 
to  be  avoided.  If  after  all  that  has  been  said  to  the  Power 
and  Safety  of  the  Publicks  going  on  to  Emit  Bills  Obli¬ 
gatory  on  the  Country,  which  is  making  the  Country  Prin¬ 
cipal  Debtor,  and  to  Let  ’em  out  on  Land  Security,  where 
is  the  Limitation  of  the  Power?  the  Gentleman  would  do 
well  to  explain  it ;  if  the  paying  the  Publick  Charge  and  its 
Defence  be  not  the  boundaries  and  limitation,  why  may  they 
not  Emit  Five  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  as  a  Fund  of 
Trade,  &  appoint  Factors  for  the  Government,  that  they 
may  have  the  Profit  ?  the  difference  seems  only  to  be  in  the 


Reprint  279 

prudence,  not  in  the  power;  how  safe  then  is  it  Living  in 
a  Community  where  the  Estates  may  be  charged  to  answer 
more  than  the  value  upon  such  Projects,  does  not  such  a 
Power  render  mens  properties  in  their  Estates  very  pre¬ 
carious  ?  especially  since  it  is  hinted,  that  the  Representatives 
may  be  kept  by  the  Charter  as  long  as  a  Prince  lives ;  we 
may  open  a  door  wide  enough  for  the  getting  Estates ;  it 
is  but  dividing  a  number  of  Bills  amongst  themselves,  and 
call  it  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  according  to  that 
argument,  and  it  is  done.  We  have  always  looked  upon  it, 
That  an  empty  Treasury  is  very  much  our  Security;  This 
Government  thought  it  so  when  they  appointed  a  Committee 
to  burn  the  Pub-[2l]lick  Bills  that  were  returned  into  the 
Treasury  during  the  recess  of  the  General  Court;  and 
prevents  many  fine  Schemes  of  Arbitrary  Power;  a  full 
Treasury  by  a  stated  Revenue  has  the  contrary  conse¬ 
quences,  and  may  soon  involve  the  poor  people  into  unknown 
mischiefs.  No  says  the  Letter,  page  28.  The  principal 
Profits  of  that  Money ,  according  to  the  Scheme  agreed  on, 
reported  by  the  Committee,  were  so  settled  and  secured ,  that 
nothing  less  than  the  General  Assembly  could  dispose  of 
either .  This  is  his  main  Argument  against  the  Objection 
to  the  Supply,  &c.  The  Governour  and  Council  has  the 
draught  of  all  Moneys  that  are  Raised  by  the  Government 
according  to  the  Charter,  as  I  observed  before  ;  and  should 
the  Publick  Emit  a  large  Sum  as  is  necessary  for  a  Publick 
Bank,  the  Income  thereof  would  be  inviting,  and  I  .doubt 
not  of  the  ways  being  presently  found  to  it,  for  a  Law  con¬ 
trary  to  the  Charter  being  void  of  it  self,  would  be  no 
boundary ;  and  supposing  it  were  not  so,  is  not  the  Gov¬ 
ernour  an  essential  part  of  the  Constitution,  and  is  not  his 


28o 


Colonial  Currency 

Council  necessary  ?  Has  he  it  not  then  in  his  power  to 
come  to  terms  for  his  own  allowances  ?  Will  there  be  any 
room  left  for  Contests  about  settling  Salaries  ?  Will  it  not 
be  done  to  hand  ?  I  beseech  you  Sir,  to  Consider  when 
this  Pandoras  Box  shall  be  once  opened,  what  unforeseen 
accidents,  what  irreparable  mischiefs,  confusion  and  misery 
would  [22]  this  whole  People  be  in  ?  This  is  true,  if  we  may 
take  what  the  Author  of  the  Letter  says,  they  intend  to  give 
the  Government  Two  Thousand  Pounds  a  year.  I  cannot 
tell  whether  they  were  to  fence  out  to  make  such  an  offer; 
if  they  mean  a  Governour  by  Government ,  it  would  be  an  effec¬ 
tual  method  to  Enslave  this  Country  says  the  Letter.  Indeed 
I  never  knew  that  Governour  and  Government,  were  one 
and  the  same  word ;  yet  it  is  Observable,  that  the  Author  of 
the  Letter  makes  them  so.  If  the  General  Assembly  says  the 
Author  of  the  Letter,  then  they  neither  can ,  nor  ought ,  &c. 
Yet  I  believe  all  Government  have  Liberty  to  accept  of  Do¬ 
nations;  but  be  it  so  that  they  cannot,  then  neither  can  the 
Government  be  supported  by  the  Profits  of  the  Publick  Bank, 
for  this  is  not  in  the  Charter;  and  if  the  Authors  Arguments 
were  good,  that  the  Publick  could  not  make  use  of  it,  the 
Governour  as  he  assures  us,  will  be  sole  Heir  of  it:  and  then 
what  will  the  gain  of  the  Country  be  ?  Whilst  I  retort  this 
Argument,  I  had  almost  forgot  the  Clause  in  Hudibras , 
that,  no  man  turns  the  Case  upon  his  own  Concerns .  What 
would  become  of  the  Fund,  if  the  Crown  should  forbid  it? 
Will  not  the  Confusion  be  great  on  the  Borrowers  ?  Justi¬ 
nian  was  of  Opinion,  that  nothing  could  be  a  Law  that  was 
not  just.  The  Gentleman  who  should  [23]  promote  such  an 
one,  surely  would  have  no  thanks  from  them  they  represent, 
when  they  come  to  feel  the  ill  effects  of  it ;  but  I  hope  no 


28i 


Reprint 

such  thing  will  take  place.  Thus  Sir,  I  have  given  you  some 
of  the  thoughts  of  the  Town,  and  the  Reasons  in  particular, 
that  sway  with  me  against  a  Publick  Bank.  The  Reasons 
why  I  prefer  a  Private  Bank,  are  such  as  these. 

1.  That  there  will  be  no  Invasion  of  the  Prerogative;  for 
every  body  as  well  as  Mr.  A ttorney  will  readily  acknowledge 
that,  they  are  not  Money ,  page  n.  And  they  may  have  the 
face  and  signature  of  Money,  as  much  as  the  Bank  Bills  of 
England ,  that  is  none  at  all ;  for  they  carry  nothing  of  Au¬ 
thority  with  them,  but  are  only  Notes  on  the  Bank,  passing 
from  one  to  another,  for  so  much  value  as  is  expressed  in 
them ;  which  value  being  deposited  in  the  Bank,  either  in 
Lands  or  other  imperishable  Estate  as  the  Original  Fund, 
and  the  Obligation  of  the  several  Partners,  to  take  ’em  in 
all  Payments,  except  Specialties,  under  a  great  penalty,  gives 
Credit  to  the  several  Bills  or  Notes  issued  from  the  Bank. 

2.  Nor  will  a  Private  Bank  open  a  door  of  Arbitrary  Power 
to  invade  the  Liberties  of  the  People,  by  a  Governours 
handling  at  his  own  pleasure  such  Sums  as  he  has  occasion 
to  make  use  of,  to  promote  his  own  ends. 

3.  Nor  is  there  any  infringment  of  the  Liberty  of  the 
People,  there  is  no  Tax  requisite  to  [24]  make  good  the  fall 
of  the  Bank,  no  Publick  Warrantee  to  secure  it,  but  only 
the  Estates  of  such  Gentlemen  as  are  willing  of  their  own 
accord  to  Mortgage ’m  ;  that  by  the  Security  given,  and  their 
mutual  agreement,  their  Notes  should  have  a  Currency,  that 
they  might  serve  the  Country,  and  themselves  in  promoting 
the  Trade  of  it;  so  that  if  the  Bank  be  suppressed,  it  would 
hazard  only  their  particular  Estates. 

4.  It  may  be  Carried  on  as  other  Merchant-like  Affairs,  by 
Factors  or  Trustees,  without  offence  to  the  Crown,  or  Gov- 


282 


Colonial  Currency 

ernment ;  This  being  the  head  of  Argument  that  bears  the 
Countenance  of  reasoning  in  Mr.  Attorneys  Letter,  which  I 
shall  Remark :  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  it  is  the  Natural 
Right  of  English  to  Trade,  and  to  carry  it  on  in  such  Meth¬ 
ods,  as  they  shall  conceive  to  be  most  advantageous  to  them  ; 
and  that  in  order  thereto,  they  have  a  right  to  take  one 
anothers  Word,  Note  or  Bond,  as  the  Case  may  require, 
with  due  regard  had  to  Justice,  and  the  power  of  the  Legis¬ 
lature,  to  enlarge  and  limit  this  Trade,  as  shall  be  tho’t  most 
suitable  to  the  Honour  of  the  Crown,  &  the  Publick  Weal : 
It  is  in  the  liberty  of  any  in  Trade,  to  enter  into  a  Covenant, 
to  take  one  anothers  Notes,  and  that  they  might  be  better 
known,  they  may  agree  upon  some  persons  to  form  those 
Notes  under  their  hands  for  them ;  &  on  their  making  over 
such  Security  as  there  [25]  is  required,  for  their  mutual 
safety,  for  such  Sums  as  they  shall  emit  or  take,  and  may 
agree  to  pay  such  an  Interest  as  may  support  the  Charge, 
and  Lend  of  their  Credit  to  others  for  their  benefit,  since 
there  is  no  Statute  Law  broken,  &  nothing  contrary  to  the 
Common  Law;  so  that  the  difference  between  us  is  not, 
Whether  the  Government  cannot  crush  such  a  Partnership, 
for  no  body  denies  that  ?  but  whether  such  an  Affair  may 
be  carried  on  in  a  Company,  without  being  Incorporated, 
without  being  a  breach  on  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown  ? 
Thus  the  Private  Bankers  in  Lumbard-street  Emit  their 
Notes,  and  that  on  Interest  too  without  being  tho’t  so;  Our 
Fathers  about  Twenty  eight  years  ago,  entred  into  a  Part¬ 
nership  to  Circulate  their  Notes  founded  on  Land  Security, 
stamped  on  Paper,  as  our  Province  Bills,  which  gave  no  of¬ 
fence  to  the  Government  then,  and  that  at  a  time,  when  the 
Prerogative  of  the  Crown  was  extended  further  than  ever  has 


Reprint  283 

been  since ;  What  Mr.  Attorney  says  of  the  Bank  of  Eng¬ 
land,  that  they  obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament  for  their  Sup¬ 
port  is  true,  yet  proves  nothing  to  his  purpose  ;  for  altho’  a 
Company  can  manage  their  Affairs  better,  and  in  a  shorter 
method,  for  their  mutual  Security  by  a  Pattent  or  Charter 
of  Incorporation,  and  with  the  greater  Security  by  an  Act  of 
Parliament  as  the  Bank  of  England,  by  the  loan  of  One 
Million  Two  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  to  the  Nati-[26]on 
obtained,  yet  it  proves  nothing  that  such  Companies  were 
any  breach  on  the  Prerogative ;  the  Act  of  the  Sixth  of 
Queen  Anne,  quoted  by  the  Author  of  the  Letter,  viz.  That 
during  the  Continuance  of  the  Bank  of  England,  it  shall  not 
be  lawful  for  any  Body  Politick  or  Corporation,  or  other  than 
the  said  Company  of  the  Bank,  or  for  other  Partners  exceed¬ 
ing  six  in  England,  to  borrow  or  owe  any  Sum  or  Bills,  or 
Note  Payable  on  demand,  or  at  any  time  less  than  six  months 
from  the  borrowing  thereof ;  is  so  far  from  proving  against 
the  Partnership,  that  strong  Arguments  may  be  drawn  from 
it,  of  its  Lawfulness  :  As, 

1.  It  appears  plain,  that  the  Limitation  of  the  Act  is  to 
England,  and  that  during  the  Continuance  of  the  Bank; 
and  so  is  of  no  force  in  the  Plantations  or  Ireland . 

2.  That  it  is  lawful  now  for  the  number  of  six. 

3.  It  implies  that  they  might  do  it,  before  this  Act  was 
made  in  favour  of  the  Bank  of  England,  and  consequently 
lawful  for  us,  where  that  Act  never  was  in  force,  which  is 
what  we  Contend  for. 

4.  It  implies  that  the  Law  of  England  does  not  look  on 
every  number  of  Partners  to  be  a  Corporation  purely  for 
their  being  Partners;  and  Mr.  Attorney  quoting  my  Lord 
Cook's  description  of  a  Corporation,  and  his  applying  it  to 


2  84  Colonial  Currency 

the  Gentlemen  concerned  in  the  Projection,  is  nothing  but 
an  amusement,  and  deserves  no  Answer,  in  that  none  of  the 
Essentials  to  such  a  Body  was  pretended  to  by  them :  for  a 
Pattent  from  the  Crown,  which  gives  the  Form  and  Being 
to  a  Corporation,  was  but  hoped  for. 

[27]  But  what  I  would  Remark  with  the  greatest  Com¬ 
placency,  is  the  applying  this  Law  to  us  in  New-England ; 
for  he  tells  us,  page  12.  If  the  same  fact  committed  in  Eng¬ 
land,  by  a  Number  not  exceeding  six  would  be  a  breach  of 
Law ,  much  more  may  we  suppose  it  forbidden ,  and  made  un¬ 
lawful  for  a  hundred  to  do  it  here .  A  nice  way  of  Arguing, 
that  concludes  strongly,  and  deserves  thanks  for  the  new 
Invention :  Because  Gunning  upon  Boston  Neck  is  forbidden 
by  a  Law,  therefore  in  every  town  of  the  Country,  I  am  apt 
to  think  that  any  man  that  is  able  to  carry  a  Gun,  may  see 
the  folly  of  such  an  argument:  Truly  it  gives  me  a  merry 
turn  of  thought  to  entertain  the  Idea,  how  Mr.  Attorney 
would  crow  to  hear  his  Antagonist  at  the  Bar  plead  a  des¬ 
perate  Cause  with  such  a  mighty  dint  of  argument  as  this; 
’tis  well  he  did  not  proceed,  to  give  himself  any  further 
trouble  to  argue  with  the  same  velocity  and  strength,  how 
far  the  Projection  would  be  a  breach  on  the  Constitution  of 
the  Bank  of  England ;  for  we  are  not  able  to  stand  before  the 
whiz  -  -  -  -  But  did  the  Author  of  the  Letter,  who  quoted  the 
Law,  in  very  deed  believe  it  possible  that  it  should  have  any 
influence  so  far  over  the  Water?  I  wonder  then  how  it  con¬ 
sisted  with  his  Consciencious  regard  to  it,  to  advise  the  Pub- 
lick  to  Erect  a  Publick  Bank  of  Credit!  for  I  would  put  it 
to  his  Conscience,  whether  this  Law  is  not  as  point  blank 
[28]  levelled  at  the  Corporation,  (which  the  Government  is) 
in  case  they  should  have  the  thoughts  of  doing  any  such 


thing  as  private  Partners,  and  whether  it  is  not  as  possible 
for  the  Government  to  Set  up  &  Establish  things  contrary 
to  the  Laws  of  England  as  for  private  Persons  ?  and  whether 
the  offence  would  not  be  as  great;  and  because  I  do  not 
know  but  that  the  Supream  Authority  may  see  cause  to 
crush  any  Bank  set  up  here,  I  will  add,  that  there  is  no  rea¬ 
sonable  man,  nor  man  of  Law,  nor  man  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  Government  dare  say,  that  it  will  be  of  equal  per¬ 
nicious  consequence,  for  private  Persons  to  set  up,  as  for 
the  Publick;  for  no  act  of  private  Persons  can  forfeit  our 
Charter ;  it  must  be  a  Public  Act  to  do  that ;  all  the  mis¬ 
chief  of  the  Private’s  being  condemned,  would  be  that  the 
Bank  would  fall,  and  that  the  Bankers  must  make  good  their 
Notes;  but  if  the  Publick  Bank  should  be  set  up  and  Con¬ 
demned,  by  that  means  we  should  be  endangered  in  our 
Charter :  And  I  am  afraid  there  are  some  men  in  the  world 
that  would  gladly  lay  hold  of  the  first  opportunity  to  deprive 

us  of  it - The  Tendency  of  a  Publick  Bank,  as  have 

been  proposed,  is  to  Unite  the  Power  of  the  Country  and 
the  Cash  together,  which  all  wise  people  have  endeavoured 
to  keep  asunder,  in  order  to  preserve  their  Liberties ;  it 
tends  to  bring  all  the  People  into  a  dependency  up-[29]on 
the  Court  Interest ;  and  consequently  to  render  them  Ab¬ 
ject  and  Servile,  which  I  think  no  Lover  of  his  Country 
should  promote :  As  it  is  proposed  at  present,  it  tends  no 
way  to  help  the  Landed  Interest  in  the  stocking  and  im¬ 
proving  their  Lands,  but  only  serves  to  remove  the  evil  day 
a  little,  very  little  further  off,  and  then  runs  them  into  greater 
distress.  On  the  contrary,  the  Projection  for  a  Private  Fund 
of  Credit,  which  since  I  began  this  Letter,  I  hear  is  coming 
out  in  Print,  that  all  may  judge  of  it,  and  no  doubt  will  be 


286  Colonial  Currency 

acceptable  to  the  Country ;  is  so  well  founded  and  secured, 
that  were  they  permitted  to  proceed  and  Emit  their  Notes, 
would  furnish  us  with  a  Medium  of  Exchange ;  the  Landed 
man  might  either  be  Concerned  in  the  Foundation,  or  might 
borrow  Credit  without  any  fear  of  a  sudden  or  surprizing 
demand,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  Affairs,  might  Stock  his 
Farm,  and  be  able  to  lessen  his  Principal,  as  his  Product 
would  enable  him  ;  it  would  be  a  certain  resort  for  men  to 
borrow  Credit  on  any  Emergency ;  it  gives  the  Industrious 
an  opportunity  of  improving  their  Lands  to  greater  advan¬ 
tage,  which  would  increase  the  Export  of  the  Country;  it 
could  hurt  none  but  the  envious,  who  will  do  no  good  them¬ 
selves,  and  yet  are  grieved  at  what  their  Neighbour  does. 
The  Pub-[30]lick  Charities  are  not  inconsiderable,  that  are 
Established  in  it ;  in  a  word,  without  it,  we  cannot  so  com¬ 
fortably  enjoy  the  Outward  Blessings  that  Heaven  has  in¬ 
dulged  us  with.  With  it  we  may  enjoy  all  the  Conveniencies 
of  a  Plentiful  Cash,  without  running  the  risk  of  being  a 
Prey  to  an  invading  Foe ;  and  in  that  as  well  as  in  every 
other  respect  would  answer  our  Occasions  as  the  Mines  of 
Peru  or  Potosi :  But  I  think  I  hear  you  in  the  Country  say, 
they  will  not  pay  our  Rates,  and  therefore  will  not  answer 
our  ends.  In  answer  to  which  I  would  say,  that  the  Bills  of 
Credit  of  the  other  Provinces  do  not  pay  our  Rates,  yet  have 
a  general  Currency  amongst  you ;  that  the  Gentlemen  con¬ 
cern’d  to  promote  the  Projection  say,  that  whilst  there  is 
any  of  the  Province  Bills  stirring,  they  would  change  them 
gratis ,  when  they  should  grow  scarce  that  the  People  could 
not  obtain  them ;  there  is  no  doubt,  but  that  the  Govern¬ 
ment  would  Order  the  Treasurer  to  take  what  would  answer 
their  Occasions,  that  would  pay  the  Souldiers  and  the  other 


Reprint  287 

Officers  of -the  Government,  and  the  other  Charges;  then 
they  would  not  have  the  occasion  to  be  at  the  Charge  nor 
Risque  of  making  Bills  of  Credit  if  they  saw  good  ;  it  would 
revive  the  Trade  of  the  Province,  and  enable  them  to  pay 
their  Debts ;  for  as  things  are  now,  they  cannot  make  Money 
but  with  a  small  part  of  their  produce,  they  are  forced  [31] 
to  Truck  them  away,  so  that  some  are  not  able,  and  others 
take  the  opportunity  to  defraud  the  Country  Trader,  and  he 
of  Consequence  is  not  able  to  pay  the  Merchant  in  Boston , 
to  the  great  Damage  of  the  whole  Country,  as  well  as  a 
Discredit  to  our  Trade ;  for  the  badness  of  the  Pay  for  want 
of  a  Medium,  obliges  the  Merchant  to  make  a  great  Advance 
on  the  Sale  of  his  Goods,  that  they  are  as  dear  now  as  in  the 
heighth  of  War;  the  Country  in  Course  ask  dear  for  their 
Produce,  which  occasions  a  great  Loss  in  Returns,  and  the 
Dearness  of  both  affects  the  Tradesman,  and  makes  him  ask 
dear  for  his  Labour,  without  which  he  is  not  able  to  Live ; 
so  that  as  the  state  of  our  Commerce  is  now,  every  thing 
tends  to  drive  away  the  Trade  from  us  to  our  Neighbours: 
The  Fishery  will  fail,  because  they  have  no  Money  for  it, 
and  all  Industry  is  very  much  crampt;  in  that  when  men 
have  Laboured,  they  are  obliged  to  go  to  a  Shop  for  Goods 
for  their  Pay,  which  often  invites,  if  not  necessitates  ’em  to 
spend  more  than  they  want  of  English  Goods,  to  the  hurt 
of  their  Families;  and  by  that  means  brings  us  more  in 
Debt  to  England ;  all  which  would  be  remedied  by  the 
Establishing  the  Land  Bank :  And  whereas  the  Gentlemen 
are  applying  Home  for  a  Charter  from  the  King  to  Incorpo¬ 
rate  them,  that  they  may  be  the  better  enabled  to  secure  the 
Foundation  and  the  Credit  of  the  Bills :  I  wish  them  [32] 
good  success,  and  doubt  not  the  whole  Country,  (when  they 


288  Colonial  Currency 

have  a  clear  view  of  their  best  Interest)  will  say,  Amen ---- 
And  whereas  some  of  you  in  the  Country  object,  that  if  such 
a  Company^goes  forward,  they  will  have  all  the  Lands  in 
the  Country:  In  answer  to  which  Objection,  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  Consider  the  Scheme  how  it  is  guarded,  and 
it  will  easily  be  apprehended  that  the  Charge  is  groundless ; 
for  the  Lands  will  be  taken  in  at  little  more  than  half  the 
value,  and  whilst  the  Borrower  pays  his  Interest  Money,  the 
Bank  will  never  trouble  him ;  if  he  neglects  that,  he  will 
stand  a  year  longer  before  he  can  be  Sued  for  it;  and  no 
man  will  let  his  Land  go  at  half  the  value;  his  Neighbour 
will  sooner  buy  it  of  him  than  let  it  go  at  so  low  a  rate ;  but 
if  the  Bank  recovers  it,  they  must  Sell  it,  for  they  have  not 
asked  leave  to  purchase  Lands;  then  there  is  three  years 
right  of  Redemption  left  to  the  Owner:  if  the  Land  sells  for 
more,  the  Bank  returns  the  Overplus,  which  I  think  suffi¬ 
ciently  takes  off  the  weight  of  that  Objection:  Besides,  as 
it  is  proposed  by  the  Publick,  there  will  be  but  few  Bor¬ 
rowers,  but  what  are  in  distress  to  put  it  off  the  further, 
because  they  are  sure  of  being  straitened  at  the  expiration 
of  the  five  years  to  pay  it  in ;  yet  in  this  Projection,  every 
Partner  is  obliged  [33]  to  take  out  a  quarter  part  of  what  he 
Subscribes,  to  bring  out  a  Medium  of  Exchange:  But  I 
shall  tire  your  patience  in  enlarging  on  the  pleasant  Subject, 
in  which  we  have  a  prospect  of  relief  under  the  present  and 
growing  distress :  I  shall  make  a  few  more  transient  Re¬ 
marks  and  Close.  The  letter  says,  page  15.  That  the  several 
Laws  of  this  Province  respecting  Money ,  or  the  Interest ,  are 
broke  in  upon  by  the  Projection :  It  is  so  far  from  being  so, 
that  it  directly  has  a  contrary  view;  the  Act  of  the  Fifth  of 
William  and  Mary  about  the  Interest  of  Money  is  broke  in 


Reprint  289 

upon,  because  we  fix  the  Interest  at  less  than  six  per  Cent . 
when  the  preamble  of  the  Act  says,  for  as  much  as  the 
abatement  of  Interest  has  always  been  found  beneficial  to 
the  Advancement  of  Trade,  and  the  Improvement  of  Lands 
by  good  Husbandry;  which  is  the  very  thing  we  have  con¬ 
sulted.  I  have  with  care  examined  all  the  Laws  of  this 
Province,  relating  to  Money  or  Bills  of  Credit,  and  the 
several  Acts  of  Parliament  quoted  in  the  Letter  too  many 
to  be  recited,  and  cannot  for  my  life  imagine  that  any 
Lawyer  besides  Mr.  Attorney  could  find  that  they  were 
invalidated,  or  in  the  least  broke  in  upon  by  this  Projection ; 
and  now  that  any  person  acting  as  he  apprehended  in  his 
Office  as  Attorney  General  should  insinuate  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  and  publish  to  the  World  in  Print,  that  they  have  [34] 
been  all  broke  in  upon  is  very  strange  and  unaccountable : 
His  Insinuation,  page  18.  That  the  Bills  being  but  pieces  of 
Paper  have  no  other  value  than  what  the  Borrower  gives  'em, 
is  a  very  ungrounded  (I  am  loth  to  say  false)  Assertion,  in 
that  they  are  Notes  Issued  out  under  the  Hands  of  them 
that  are  abundantly  sufficient  to  make  them  good,  and  who 
were  obliged  not  only  to  that,  but  under  a  Fifty  Pound 
Penalty  to  take  them  in  all  Payments,  and  the  Borrower 
being  at  his  liberty,  must  be  bubbled  indeed  to  take  them 
out,  if  they  would  not  answer  his  Occasions,  in  page  19.  he 
asserts,  that  the  Projectors  are  only  obliged  to  accept  of  them 
for  the  redemption  of  Pawns  and  Mortgages ;  and  supposes 
that  the  Possessor  has  neither,  referring  to  the  Tenour  of 
the  Bill :  See  his  own  recital  of  the  Bill,  page  7.  Obliges, 
&c.  to  accept  the  same  in  all  payments,  according  to  Cove¬ 
nant  made  by  us;  (or  rather  see  the  true  Form  or  Tenour 
of  the  Bill  in  the  Scheme  Printed)  both  which  so  manifestly 

VOL.  I  —  19 


290  Colonial  Currency 

contradict  his  Assertion,  and  at  first  sight  tended  to  mislead 
the  Honourable  House  of  Representatives  in  Matters  of 
Fact,  that  it  is  unaccountable  he  should  offer  it.  As  for  his 
gross  Charge  of  Contempt  of  Government,  I  suppose  the 
Gentlemen  will  vindicate  themselves;  I  have  heard  say,  they 
are  sufficiently  able,  as  well  as  obliged :  his  breviate  of  the 
Scheme,  and  his  Tenour  of  the  Bill  being  a  [35]  gross  mis¬ 
representation  and  his  reflections  made  thereon,  consequently 
ill  grounded,  I  do  not  trouble  you  with  a  Confutation,  they  fall 
of  themselves,  page  13.  He  says,  That  the  General  Assembly 
are  under  a  necessity  of  enquiring  into  the  Justice ,  Legality , 
the  Safety ,  and  Publick  Advantage ;  wherein  I  agree  with 
the  Author,  and  I  believe  the  Gentlemen  concerned,  would 
have  been  glad  if  it  had  been  duly  weighed,  and  fully  consid¬ 
ered  before  they  had  been  prohibited ;  and  whereas  no  man 
has  ever  proved  it  to  be,  either  unjust,  illegal  or  unsafe,  or  not 
for  the  Publick  Good ;  and  the  contrary  I  think,  is  sufficiently 
evident  to  any  disinterested ;  the  Gentlemen  that  they  might 
proceed  in  their  Affair  without  offence,  (since  he  desires 
that  it  might  be  forbidden,  until  His  Majesties  Pleasure  is 
known  ;)  have  agreed  by  a  Humble  Petition,  to  lay  it  before 
His  Majesty,  praying  for  a  Charter  of  Incorporation,  to  en¬ 
able  them  with  the  more  security  to  Circulate  their  Notes 
founded  on  their  Lands :  The  Author,  page  20.  and  18. 
seems  Concerned  about  the  Credit  of  the  Bank  Notes,  and 
that  for  two  Reasons;  the  lowness  of  the  Interest,  &  the 
Foundation  being  Land  and  not  Money,  to  answer  the 
Notes:  As  for  the  Interest  which  is  set  at  Five  per  Cent ,  it 
is  what  the  Publick  has  seen  reason  to  set  theirs  at,  and 
therefore  may  be  supposed  their  reason  was  good ;  the  value 
of  Money  or  Notes  ne-[36]ver  was  founded  on  the  Interest, 


291 


Reprint 

but  what  they  would  purchase  of  Land  or  Merchandizes ; 
the  Interest  is  justly  lower’d  by  the  abundant  Security  re¬ 
quired,  which  is  considered  in  the  nature  of  a  Sum  paid  in 
hand  by  way  of  fine,  as  in  the  Leases  of  Lands  to  lower  the 
Annual  Rent.  As  for  Land  Foundation,  the  only  measure 
of  valuation  we  have  left,  and  the  best  (in  that  Silver  has 
altered  four  parts  in  five  within  this  two  hundred  years,  as  is 
affirmed  by  good  Authors)  to  found  our  Notes  on,  in  that 
our  Trade  will  be  governed  according* to  our  produce  either 
in  our  own  growth,  or  what  by  our  Industry  we  Import  from 
others,  to  Export  by  way  of  Returns  to  Great  Britain,  which 
wholly  takes  off  the  common  cry  by  way  of  amusement 
against  it,  that  we  are  extravagant  in  our  Consumptions, 
and  Over-traded,  which  tho’  they  may  be  true  in  themselves, 
are  nothing  promoted  by  this,  in  that  the  Notes  cannot  be 
sent  off.  Mr.  Attorney  tells  us,  page  30  that  in  what  he  has 
done ,  he  had  no  private  view ,  or  separate  Interest  nor  any  pre¬ 
judice  to  the  Gentlemen  concerned ,  among  whom  he  has  many 
particular  Friends ,  but  has  sincerely  aimed  at  the  Publick 
Good ’  I  believe  the  Gentlemen  concerned  do  not  think  he 
has  treated  ’em  like  Friends,  who  they  say  never  came 
amongst  them  to  reason  about  the  Scheme;  but  in  his 
Letter  has  drest  them  Alamode  the  Spanish  Inquisition, 
with  horrid  pictures  on  their  Design,  that  [37]  they  might  be 
delivered  over  to  the  Secular  Power,  to  be  punished.  And 
as  for  his  design  and  separate  Interest,  being  one  that  im¬ 
proves  his  Stock  by  Letting  Money  at  Interest;  if  he  had 
not  told  us  so,  we  should  have  been  apt  to  have  believed  the 
contrary,  and  may  be  worthy  of  a  second  view  and  Reflec¬ 
tion  by  him,  as  well  as  the  Portion  of  Sacred  Writ,  so  much 
abused  as  to  be  set  in  the  Frontispiece  of  his  Letter,  which 


292 


Colonial  Currency 

I  shall  take  the  freedom  to  repeat  to  his  Consideration  in  the 
very  words,  That  better  is  a  little  with  Righteousness ,  than 
great  Revenues  without  Right.  And  now  Sir,  I  have  given 
you  a  few  of  the  many  dark  thoughts  of  the  Town,  relating 
to  the  Letter,  and  the  Publick  Bank  Projected  ;  as  also  some 
of  their  hopes  of  the  Success  of  the  Private.  If  what  has 
been  written  may  contribute  to  the  setting  Truth  and  the 
Interest  of  the  Country  in  a  clearer  Light  in  your  Parts,  it 
will  be  sufficient  Reward,  and  an  entire  Satisfaction, 

New-Engiand,  To  your  Humble  Servant, 

Anno  1714.  F  -  -  -  1.  B  -  -  -  t. 

NOTE  TO  “A  LETTER  FROM  ONE  IN  BOSTON,”  etc. 

This  pamphlet  may  be  described  as  a  i6mo  of  thirty-seven  pages. 
It  is  to  be  found  in  several  of  our  libraries.1  I  have  examined  three 
copies  and  in  all  of  them  have  found  the  following  corrections  to  the 
text  made  in  writing :  On  page  21  of  the  pamphlet,  the  word  “  Coun¬ 
cil  ”  in  the  eighth  line,  in  the  original  pagination,  from  the  bottom, 
being  the  sixtieth  word  from  the  bottom,  is  changed  to  “  consent.” 
On  page  22,  in  the  fifth  line  from  the  top,  the  expression  “  to  fence  ” 
occurs ;  this  is  changed  to  “  not  once.”  The  word  “  Gentleman  ” 
in  the  last  line  of  the  same  page  is  altered  to  “  Gentlemen.”  On 
page  24  “  the  Natural  Right  of  English  to  Trade  ”  is  made  to  read 
“  English  Men!'  The  fact  that  these  corrections  are  made  in  each 
of  these  copies  would  indicate  that  they  were  made  before  the 
pamphlet  was  put  upon  sale. 

The  copy  of  the  pamphlet  and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were 
originally  procured  for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc., 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

The  anonymity  of  the  pamphlet  is  well  preserved  under  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  a  clue  to  the  name  of  the  writer  given  in  the  letters  F - 1 

1  Boston  Public  Library,  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston  Athenaeum, 
American  Antiquarian  Society. 


Note 


293 

B  -  -  -  t  at  the  end.  Although  this  indication  of  the  name  of  the 
author  is  apparently  sincere,  no  name  which  responds  to  its  demands 
has  as  yet  been  found. 

The  pamphlet  purports  to  have  been  written  in  Boston  in  response 
to  a  request  from  Speaker  Burrill,  and  the  copy  before  me  has 
“  Boston  ”  written  over  “  New-England  ”  in  the  date. 

It  will  be  observed  that  it  bears  no  other  date  than  the  year.  As 
an  answer  to  Dudley’s  “  Objections,”  etc.,  it  necessarily  follows  that 
pamphlet  in  chronological  sequence.  That  both  of  these  should 
precede  the  “  Projection  ”  does  not  at  first  seem  natural,  and  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  pamphlets  in  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency  ” 
I  placed  the  “  Projection  ”  before  Dudley’s  pamphlet  attacking  it. 
If  we  examine  the  dates  of  the  two  we  find  the  “  Objections  ”  dated 
October  22 ;  the  “  Projection  ”  October  30.  Dudley’s  knowledge 
of  the  details  of  the  project  did  not  come  from  his  having  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  printed  copy  of  the  scheme  for  a  bank.  Indeed  his  post¬ 
script  shows  that  the  document  was  still  in  process  of  formation 
while  he  was  writing.  Such  knowledge  as  he  possessed  was  easily 
attainable,  since  the  meetings  of  the  projectors  were  openly  held  in 
response  to  advertised  calls  in  the  News-Letter.  The  appeal  was 
for  public  support  and  success  depended  on  publicity. 

The  “  Letter  from  One  in  Boston  ”  was  written  before  the  “  Pro¬ 
jection  ”  as  finally  perfected  was  furnished  in  printed  form  to  the 
public.  “  Even  to  this  day  have  neither  Printed  their  Scheme,”  etc., 
says  the  writer  on  page  6.  Strict  regard  for  chronological  sequence 
must  therefore  place  the  “  Projection  ”  after  these  two  pamphlets 
which  contain  a  discussion  of  its  merits. 


1 


Vindication 

OF  THE 


O  F 


:•*'*  ■■■■  -V-. 
%■'> .... 


Projected  in  Befipn  from  the  Afperfions 

£.*;■  ’  OF 

Paul  Dudley,  Efqr. 

I  N  A 


I 


By  him  dire&ed  to  John  Burnt  Efqr.  Late 
Speaker  to  the  Houfe  of  Reprefenta- 
tives  for  the  Province  of  the  A fajfacbu- 
fetts~7?ay  in  7 Sjxc-EngUnd. 


Printed  in  the  Year  171+* 


;  * 


VINDICATION 

O  F  T  H  E 

BANK 

Credit 

Projected  in  Bojlon  from  the  Afperfions 

O  F 

Paul  Dudley,  Rfqr. 

L  E  TT E  R 

By  him  diredted  to  John  Burnt  Efqr.  Late 
Speaker  to  the  Houfe  of  Reprefenta- 
tives  for  the  Province  of  the  Maffachu - 
fetts-Bay  in  New-England. 


Printed  in  the  Year  1714. 

296 


Colonial  Currency 


'[1] 

A 

VINDICATION 
OF  THE 
Bank  of  Credit,  &c. 

To  John  Burril \  Esqr. 

SIR. 

MR.  Attorney  General,  by  his  Letter  of  the  Twenty 

Second  of  October  last  past  to  your  Self,  as 
Speaker  to  the  House  of  Representatives  for 
»  this  Province,  having  most  unaccountably,  with 
an  uncommon  Freedom,  taken  upon  him  to 
Insult  and  Arraign  a  Considerable  Company  of  Gentlemen 
Merchants,  &c.  (as  he  is  pleased  to  stile  them)  Projectors 
of  the  Bank  of  Credit,  and  call  them  to  the  Bar  of  that  Hon¬ 
ourable  House,  Charging  them  with  the  many  High  Crimes 
and  Misdemeanours  following. 

First ,  That  they  are  openly  carrying  on  their  Bank  with 
utmost  Vigour  and  Expedition,  in  Contempt  of  an  Order  of 
Council;  and  indeed  affirming,  that  the  Government  [2] 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them  in  that  Affair :  And  that  they 
look  upon  themselves  very  Well  and  sufficient  to  carry  it  on 
without  making  any  Application  to  the  General  Assembly. 
Vide  page  3,  4. 

Secondly ,  that  their  Bank  is  Pandoras  Box ,  Page  4. 


Reprint  297 

Thirdly ,  That  their  Projection  is  just  Ripe  for  Execution, 
which  will  more  or  less  affect,  invalidate  and  break  in  upon 
the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown,  several  Acts  of  Parliament, 
the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  this  Province,  the  Estates  and 
Liberties  of  the  People ;  and  that  not  only  for  the  present, 
but  succeeding  Generations.  Page  4,  7,  15. 

Fourthly ,  That  their  Projection  is  a  thing  Intolerable ,  Un¬ 
reasonable  and  Unjust ,  not  founded  in  Commutative  Justice , 
and  Common  Honesty ;  and  must  unavoidably  prove  a  great 
Snare  and  Mischief  to  People  that  want  Money  to  pay  their 
Debts,  and  otherwise,  for  whose  ease  and  advantage  the 
Bank  is  Projected.  Page ,  16,  17,  18. 

Fifthly ,  That  the  Business  of  the  Projectors  is  in  one  day 
to  be  Masters  of  One  Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand  Pounds, 
without  any  Risque,  or  any  other  Charge  or  Trouble,  than 
the  Writing  and  Signing  a  few  pieces  of  Paper,  to  Accept 
Six  Thousand  Pounds  Interest  per  Annum  ;  whereby  they 
would  immediately  have  the  profits  of  other  Mens  Estates, 
and  [3]  finally  the  Estates  themselves,  without  a  valuable 
Consideration.  Page  17,  18. 

Sixthly,  That  their  Projection  will  be  in  effect  the  setting 
up  an  Absolute,  Independent  Government,  which  like  a  Fire 
in  the  Bowels,  will  Burn  up  and  Consume  the  whole  Body. 
Page  14. 

These  Articles  being  Intermixed  and  Cloathed  with  so 
many  Invective  Sarcasms,  Opprobrious  Language  and  Un¬ 
due  Reflections,  the  Gentlemen  Concerned  hold  themselves 
Obliged  in  Justice  to  themselves,  and  the  Truth,  and  in 
Honour  to  your  self ;  that  you  and  every  one  else  may  be 
Undeceived,  and  that  the  whole  Matter  may  be  set  in  its 
true  light,  do  Affirm  and  declare, 


298  Colonial  Currency 

That  two  or  three  Gentlemen  in  the  Town  of  Boston , 
discoursing  of  the  Difficulties  that  Trade  laboured  under, 
for  want  of  a  Medium  of  Exchange,  the  Silver  being  sent 
Home  for  England,  and  the  Bills  of  Credit  on  the  several 
Provinces  daily  Called  in  by  the  Funds  on  which  they  were 
Emitted;  thought  it  proper  to  consult  some  other  Friends, 
and  to  Meet  together,  and  Consider  of  a  suitable  Remedy 
for  the  present  and  growing  Inconveniencies  and  Difficul¬ 
ties.  At  which  time  some  were  desired  to  Commit  their 
thoughts  to  Writing,  in  order  to  be  considered  of  at  a  Second 
Meeting,  which  was  accordingly  done;  and  after  several 
Meetings,  agreed  on  a  Land  Security,  [4]  as  a  Fund  for 
Bills  and  Notes  to  be  Circulated,  and  Minutes  then  drawn 
up,  for  the  Regulating  and  Carrying  on  that  Affair,  but  all 
with  an  intire  dependence  upon  the  Government  for  their 
Favour  and  Countenance  in  promoting  it,  and  furnishing 
them  with  all  such  necessary  Powers  as  might  enable  them 
to  carry  it  on  with  safety  to  themselves,  and  the  Possessors 
of  their  Bills  or  Notes.  And  therefore  immediately  they 
desired  some  of  the  Gentlemen  to  wait  upon  His  Excellency 
the  Governour  for  his  Advice,  Favour,  Countenance  and 
Direction  in  their  Projection ;  who  accordingly  the  very  next 
Morning  before  they  had  taken  a  fair  Copy  of  their  Minutes, 
waited  on  His  Excellency;  so  careful  were  they  of  paying 
all  due  Respects  to  Government,  who  were  well  Received 
by  him,  and  Encouraged  to  proceed.  And  at  the  same  time 
their  Scheme  being  first  laid  before  his  Excellency;  his 
thoughts  were  desired,  whether  it  was  practicable  for  the  Pub- 
lick  to  come  into  a  Fund  themselves,  to  which  he  was  pleased 
to  Answer,  No,  by  no  means;  The  Country  is  greatly  In¬ 
debted  already,  and  if  such  a  thing  were  proposed,  any 


Reprint  299 

Landed  Man  might  come  into  the  General  Court,  and  enter 
•  his  Protest  against  it;  Neither  would  it  be  safe  for  that  a 
Governours  Fingers  could  not  be  kept  out  of  it.  And  there 
then  being  further  discourse  about  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
[5]ment  to  Lend  at  Interest  on  the  Publick  Credit;  He 
Replied,  That  what  the  Government  could  not  do  wisely, 
equitably  and  safely  they  could  not  do ;  and  that  the  Method 
that  they  had  Projected  for  Relief  in  that  Affair,  he  well 
approved  of;  withal  adding,  that  he  would  be  the  first  Per¬ 
son  that  would  take  out  Three  Hundred  Pounds  of  their  Bills 
to  promote  their  Credit,  and  encourage  them  to  proceed  to 
take  Subscriptions,  in  order  to  lay  it  before  the  General 
Assembly  for  their  Allowance ;  and  that  he  would  do  all 
that  lay  in  his  power  to  promote  it ;  assuring  them  that  he 
would  Write  Home  in  their  favour,  by  setting  forth  the  Ne¬ 
cessity  of  such  a  Projection :  And  directed  them  to  wait 
upon  Mr.  Secretary  Addington  for  his  Advice,  which  they 
did,  who  was  of  Opinion  that  the  Government  would  not 
Raise  Money  or  Bills  to  Let  out  upon  Loan.  They  then, 
and  at  sundry  other  times  consulted  him  about  their  Scheme, 
committed  it  to  him  to  peruse,  correct,  alter,  amend  and 
frame  as  he  should  think  fit,  which  he  accordingly  did. 
Whereas  if  the  Projectors  had  been  discouraged  in  their  so 
early  Attempts,  it  might  have  prevented  any  further  pro¬ 
ceedings  :  And  the  said  Scheme  was  laid  before  the  General 
Court  at  their  Sessions  in  February  last  past,  together  with 
a  Petition,  Subscribed  by  most  of  the  Underta-[6]kers  of  that 
Affair,  for  the  granting  them  such  necessary  Powers,  as  they 
should  think  meet  to  carry  on  the  same. 


300 


Colonial  Currency 


Sir , 

The  foregoing  being  Matter  of  Fact,  and  the  exact  steps 
taken  by  the  Gentlemen  concerned  in  the  Projection  of  the 
Bank.  It  cannot  be  so  much  as  imagined,  that  the  Author 
of  the  Letter,  his  Post  and  near  Relation  to  the  Governour 
Considered,  should  be  ignorant  thereof.  However  it  fully 
proves  that  part  of  his  Letter  respecting  their  Slight ,  Neglect 
and  Contempt  of  the  Authority  and  Government  to  be  a 
designed  Misrepresentation,  and  therefore  Abusive  of  the 
Gentlemen  concerned;  some  of  whom  on  several  accounts 
are  Superiour  to  him. 

Now  Sir,  If  you  will  please  to  Consider  his  Argument, 
whereby  he  would  seem  and  pretend  to  prove  his  Charge  of 
Contempt ,  &c.  you  will  find  it  as  Unfair  and  Fallacious  as 
his  Charge ,  which  is  that  which  ‘  you  must  needs  have  seen 
‘in  the  Publick  News-Paper,  or  an  Order  of  the  Governour 
‘and  Council  passed  upon  the  Occasion  of  the  Projection 
‘of  the  Bank  of  Credit;  whereby  the  Projectors  were  di- 
‘  rected  to  proceed  no  further  in  that  Affair,  until  the  next 
‘  Session  of  the  General  Assembly ;  that  so  the  whole  Gov- 
‘  ernment  might  be  of  Advice  in  a  Matter  of  that  weight 
‘and  Consequence.  Notwithstanding  [7]  all  which,  I  am 
‘loth  to  say,  in  Contempt  of  it,  the  persons  concerned  are 
‘  openly  carrying  on  their  Bank  with  utmost  Vigour  and 
‘  Expedition,  and  supposing,  and  indeed  affirming  that  the 
‘  Government  have  nothing  to  do  with  them  in  that 
‘  Affair. 

Is  not  this  a  bold  and  wilful  Misrepresentation  of  the 
Matter?  Whenas  the  Order  of  Council,  which  the  Govern¬ 
ment  Ordered  to  be  Printed  in  the  Weekly  News-Letter,  is 
in  the  Words  following. 


Reprint  301 

At  a  Council  Held  at  the  Council-Chamber  in  Boston , 
upon  Fryday  the  Twentieth  of  August ,  1714. 

UP  on  Reading  a  Memorial ,  Presented  by  the  Queens 
Attorney  General,  setting  forth  that  upon  good  In¬ 
formation,  a  certain  Number  of  Gentlemen,  and  Merchants 
are  Projecting  a  Bank  of  Credit  as  they  call  it,  designing 
speedily  to  Make  and  Emit  a  quantity  of  Bills  to  a  great 
Value  ;  which  is  a  Matter  of  Importance,  and  will  necessarily 
be  of  General  Influence . 

Ordered,  That  the  Projectors  or  Undertakers  -of  any  such 
Bank  do  not  proceed  to  Print  the  said  Scheme,  or  put  the 
same  on  Publick  Record,  Make  or  Emit  any  of  their  Notes 
or  Bills,  until  they  have  laid  their  Proposals  before  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Assembly  of  this  Her  Majesties  Province;  who  are 

* 

always  ready  to  Countenance  [8]  and  Encourage  any  Proposals 
that  may  be  of  benefit  and  advantage  for  the  Publick ;  or  for 
the  promoting  and  encouraging  of  Trade  amongst  Her  Majes¬ 
ties  Good  Subjects  of  this  Province ;  And  that  this  order  be 
Printed  in  the  Weekly  News-Letter . 

Isaac  Addington,  Seer. 

Now  by  what  Words  in  this  Order  can  Mr.  Attorney  sup¬ 
port  his  Argument,  to  prove  the  Projectors  Contempt  and 
Insinuated  Disobedience,  which  as  it  did  not  forbid  their  pro¬ 
ceeding  any  further  in  that  Affair,  but  rather  encourage  and 
direct  them  to  compleat  their  Subscriptions,  and  perfect 
their  Scheme,  so  as  it  might  be  fit  to  lay  before  the  General 
Assembly;  so  was  it  punctually  complied  with,  in  that  the 
Projectors  neither  Printed  their  Scheme,  or  put  the  same 
upon  Publick  Record,  Made,  or  Emitted  any  of  their  Notes 
or  Bills;  but  reconsidered  and  New-Modelled  their  Scheme, 


302  Colonial  Currency 

and  took  many  more  Subscriptions,  and  so  far  perfected  it, 
as  to  lay  it  before  the  General  Assembly,  which  they  did  at 
their  last  October  Sessions;  hoping  for  their  Countenance 
and  Authority,  for  that  because  a  certain  number  of  the 
Gentlemen  concerned  were  appointed  to  attend  his  Excel¬ 
lency  with  the  present  Scheme,  which  they  carried  to  him 
on  the  Morning  of  the  Day  they  presented  another  of  the 
same  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  who  then  freely 
declared,  that  he  would  fa-[9]vour  the  Design,  if  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  Council  would  come  into  it,  and  that 
the  Publicks  Raising  of  Bills  to  Let  out,  to  him  had  its  dark 
sides ;  for  that  if  any  Person  should  borrow  of  the  Publick 
Bills,  and  Mortgage  his  Estate  for  payment  and  fail  of 
making  payment,  whereby  the  Estate  so  Mortgaged  should 
become  forfeit,  the  Estate  so  forfeited  would  belong  to  the 
Crown;  and  if  he  were  their  Governour,  he  should  think 
himself  obliged  to  lay  his  Hands  upon  it,  till  the  Kings 
Pleasure  could  be  had,  who  would  have  the  intire  dispo¬ 
sition  thereof. 

And  now  after  so  fair  a  Gloss  and  false  Comment  upon  the 
Order  of  the  Governour  and  Council,  and  the  Actions  of  the 
Projectors  in  Conformity  thereto  in  the  very  beginning  of 
the  Letter;  what  can  be  expected  but  the  like  Arguments 
throughout.  And  indeed  here  you  may  see  Ex  Ungue 
Leonem .  Is  not  this  too  much  like  prevaricating  talk  in  a 
bad  Cause.  Wherefore  it  is  now  to  be  Noted,  that  notwith¬ 
standing  the  Gentlemen  concerned,  had  made  several  Alter¬ 
ations  in  their  Projection  obliging  every  one  that  Subscribed 
thereto,  to  give  good  real  Security,  to  the  full  value  of  their 
several  Subscriptions,  to  Lie  as  a  Fund  or  Security,  to 
answer  all  the  Notes  or  Bills  Issued  from  the  Bank;  and 


303 


Reprint 

to  make  good  all  Deficiencies,  whereby  the  Possessors  or 
Borrowers  of  the  Bills  or  Notes  were  in  no  [10]  danger  of 
being  wronged,  with  some  other  Amendments:  The  want 
of  which  Security  in  the  first  Projection,  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  Arguments  Mr.  Attorney  hath  made  use  of  to  cry 
down  the  same.  Now  he  being  well  Informed  of  these 
Alterations  before  he  Published;  Nay,  before  he  delivered 
and  sent  his  Letter  to  you,  whereby  he  certainly  knew  his 
short  Abstract  of  the  Projection,  and  his  Form  of  the  Bills, 
with  his  Addition  of  an  Escutcheon,  and  consequently  all 
the  fine  Structure  he  builds  thereon,  to  be  but  upon  a  sandy 
Foundation ;  tho’  he  would  have  the  Honourable  House  of 
Representatives  believe  it. 

And  then  he  does  in  effect  tell  you,  that  the  Projectors 
of  the  Bank  have  of  their  own  heads  formed  themselves  into 
a  Company,  -by  a  Constitution  of  their  own  making,  and 
Erecting  of  themselves  into  a  Body  Politick  and  Corporate 
to  all  Intents  and  Purposes  in  the  Law ;  and  then  calls  in  the 
Prerogative  and  the  Honour  of  the  Government  to  his  Aid 
and  Assistance.  It ’s  true,  they  have  by  a  Constitution  of 
their  own  making,  formed  themselves  into  a  Company  and 
Co-partnership,  and  that  they  take  for  granted  they  well 
might  do  without  the  least  affront  to  the  Crown,  or  this 
Government,  or  else  had  never  attempted  it;  for  what’s 
more  common  and  usual  than  for  Merchants  and  others  to 
enter  into  Partnership,  make  their  Rules,  and  oblige  them¬ 
selves  to  [ll]  the  due  observation  of  them.  And  does  this 
make  them  a  Body  Politick,  and  Corporate  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  in  the  Law,  or  encroach  upon  the  Prerogative,  or 
dishonour  this  Government  ?  What  is  it  then  the  Projectors 
have  done,  that  makes  them  such  a  Body  Politick  as  Mr. 


3°4 


Colonial  Currency 

Attorney  pretends  they  are.  Certainly  no  man  but  one  in 
Eutopia  could  make  such  an  Interpretation  of  their  Articles 
as  he  has  done.  The  Projectors,  as  he  rightly  observes,  do 
not  pretend  to  Incorporate,  or  make  themselves  a  Body 
Politick ;  neither  does  his  partial  description  of  a  Corpora¬ 
tion,  which  he  says  is  my  Lord  Cooks ,  with  all  the  &crs.  he 
has  put  into  it  prove  they  have. 

We  agree  with  him,  that  all  Bodies  Politick  are  derived 
from  the  King  as  their  Original  Fountain ;  but  it  does  not 
thence  follow,  that  all  Banks  of  Credit  and  Companies  are, 
for  that  there  have  been  such  as  never  were  Incorporated : 
And  does  not  the  Sword  Blade  Company  in  London ,  con¬ 
tinue  even  unto  this  day,  to  Emit  their  Notes  to  a  very 
great  Value  by  Trustees,  and  not  Incorporated  as  a  Bank 
of  Credit:  so  that  their  Emitting  Notes  or  Bills  is  not  in 
England  accounted  a  thing  intolerable ,  Unreasonable  and 
Unjust ,  and  absolutely  inconsistent  with  the  Honour,  the 
Power  and  Wisdom  of  that  Government,  nor  to  suffer  a 
Number  of  their  own  People  to  set  up  an  Absolute  Inde¬ 
pendent  Government ,  which  like  a  Fire  in  [12]  their  Bowels, 
would  burn  up  &  consume  their  whole  Body.  But  Mr. 
Attorney  it  seems  is  wiser,  &  sees  further  into  the  Matter, 
than  the  Government  of  Engla7id  doth.  And  then  again  to 
prove  the  Erecting  this  Bank  a  Breach  of  Law,  he  brings 
in  an  Act  of  Parliament,  made  in  the  Sixth  Year  of  the 
Reign  of  Queen  ANNE,  to  wit,  that  during  the  Continuance 
of  the  Bank  of  England,  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  Body 
Politick  or  Corporate ,  other  than  the  said  Company  of  the 
Bank ,  or  for  other  Partners  exceeding  six  in  England  to 
Borrow  or  Owe  any  Sum  on  Bill  or  Note,  payable  on  demand, 
or  at  any  time  less  than  six  Months  from  the  Borrowing 


305 


Reprint 

thereof.  Now  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  this  Law  does  not 
make  any  Number  of  Partners  to  be  a  Body  Politick  or 
Corporate,  for  their  being  in  Partnership;  Neither  doth  it 
forbid  any  six,  or  any  other  Number  of  Partners  to  Borrow 
or  Owe  any  Sum  on  Bill  or  Note,  payable  at  any  time  longer 
than  six  Months  from  the  Borrowing.  Most  certainly  that 
Law  was  made  in  favour  of  the  Bank  of  England',  So  that 
even  in  England  it  self  before  that  Act  had  its  force,  it  was 
lawful  there  for  any  Body  Politick  or  Corporate,  or  Partners 
to  Borrow  or  Owe  any  Sum  on  Bill  or  Note,  &c.  And 
therefore  will  be  Lawful  again  at  the  determination  of  that 
Bank.  Then  why  may  it  not  lawfully  be  done  here,  since 
that  Act  no  ways  affects  this  Province;  For  can  Mr.  At¬ 
torney  ima-[13]gine  that  setting  up  a  Bank  of  Credit  in 
New- England,  would  in  the  least  measure,  prejudice  the 
Bank  of  England :  However,  tho’  he  says  he  will  not  trouble 
himself  to  Argue  how  far  this  Projection  would  be  a  Breach 
upon  the  Bank  of  England',  yet  he  tells  you  .page  12.  That 
certainly  if  the  same  Fact  committed  in  England,  by  a  Num¬ 
ber  exceeding  six  would  be  a  Breach  of  Law;  much  more  may 
we  suppose  it  forbidden  and  made  Unlawful  for  an  hundred 
to  do  it  here .  Certainly,  this  is  a  fine  and  accurate  Mode  of 
Reasoning  and  Pungent  Argument. 

Because  our  Law  forbids  us  Building  of  Wooden  Houses 
in  Boston,  therefore  we  must  not  Erect  one  in  Lynn,  or  the 
Province  of  Main. 

As  to  what  he  says  of  the  Projection  not  being  founded  in 
Commutative  fustice  and  Common  Honesty ,  and  that  he 
can’t  see  the  Reasonableness  and  Justice  of  it,  betwixt  the 
Subscribers  and  Borrowers;  and  therefore  must  unavoidably 
prove  a  great  Snare  and  Mischief  to  those  that  want  Money, 

VOL.  I  —  20 


306  Colonial  Currency 

&c.  To  make  a  shew  of  the  Proof  thereof,  he  Argues  from 
his  own  false  Abstract  of  the  Projection,  so  that  he  disput¬ 
ing  Ex  non  Concessis ;  all  he  draws  from  thence,  together 
with  his  Hypothesis ,  grounded  thereon,  must  needs  fall  of 
it  self,  &  come  to  nothing.  And  it  is  plain,  his  design  was 
only  to  amuse  the  People,  but  more  particularly  the  House 
of  Representatives  :  Now  since  the  [14]  Projection  obliges 
every  Subscriber  to  Mortgage  a  Real  Estate,  of  the  full 
value  of  what  he  subscribes  for,  to  make  a  sufficient  Fund 
for  the  Credit  of  their  Notes  and  Bills;  as  likewise  to 
Answer  all  Deficiencies  arising  by  any  defect  or  default  of 
the  Projectors  in  the  aforesaid  Scheme;  Whereby  the  Bor¬ 
rowers  or  Possessors  of  the  Notes  or  Bills  are  sure  to  have 
Justice  done  them;  and  all  concerned  with  them,  in  case 
the  Bank  should  come  to  an  end,  even  then  will  the  last 
Possessors  of  their  Bills  or  Notes  have  good  Security  to 
depend  on:  Notwithstanding  all  the  Objector  hath  said,  or 
possibly  can  say:  They  still  having  their  Credit  and  Value 
from  the  Intrinsick  Value  of  the  Bank,  and  not  from  what 
his  Bubbled  Borrowers  give  them,  as  he  groundlesly  asserts. 
He  must  needs  suppose  the  House  to  be  asleep,  and  so  to 
need  awakening,  2^  page  5.  when  he  asserts,  page  19.  that 
by  the  Tenour  of  the  Bills  you  see,  they  are  only  obliged  to 
Accept  of  them  for  the  Redemption  of  Pawns  and  Mort¬ 
gages'.  When  in  his  Reciting  the  Tenour  of  the  Bill,  page  7. 
He  owns  that  we  oblige  our  selves  to  Accept  the  same  in 
ALL  PAYMENTS  according  to  Covenant  made  by  us  on 
Publick  Record,  &c.  Which  how  directly  he  Contradicts 
himself,  &  endeavours  to  Mislead  the  House,  we  leave  you 
and  the  World  to  judge:  Nor  would  the  Projectors  have 
the  Profits  of  other  Mens  E-[l5]states,  much  less  the  Estates 


30  7 


Reprint 

themselves  without  a  valuable  Consideration,  nor  make 
themselves  Masters  of  any  Estates  but  their  own,  which 
they  willingly  Deposit  and  Mortgage  for  a  General  Benefit, 
for  the  Loan  and  Credit  whereof  it’s  as  lawful  for  them 
to  take  Interest,  as  it  is  for  Mr.  Attorney  for  his  Bills  of 
Credit  on  the  Province.  The  Bank  Bills  having  a  better 
and  more  certain  Security  than  the  Public  Loan  Bills,  and 
more  easily  obtained,  in  Case  that  late  Act  should  be  Re¬ 
pealed:  And  for  that  Reason  his  Argument  against  the 
Private  Bank  is  of  far  greater  strength  and  force  against  the 
Publick  Bank. 

Mr.  Attorney  is  pleased  often  to  put  you  in  mind that  this 
Projection  breaks  in  upon ,  and  Invalidates  the  Constitution 
of  this  Province,  page  4.  15.  The  Act  of  Parliament  of  late 
made  Referring  to  Money  in  the  Plantations,  designing 
thereby  to  awaken  the  Government  up07i  this  great  occasion, 
to  Exert  their  proper  Power,  and  not  suffer  the  Projection  to 
proceed,  but  by  some  proper  A ct,  and  Publick  Order,  to  declare 
against,  and  forbid  it,  lest  thereby  the  Constitution  of  the 
Government  of  the  Province  be  broke  in  upon ,  and  endangered : 
Because  we  are  a  Dependent  Government,  and  must  in  all 
things  Conform  our  selves  to  the  Laws  of  Great  Britain,  and 
Instructions  of  the  Crown,  and  therefore  must  expect  to  give 
an  A ccount  of  all  our  Matters . 

Now  if  the  suffering  of  this  Private  Bank  to  be  [16] 
Erected,  is  such  an  Encroachment  upon  the  Prerogative, 
and  a  breach  of  the  Law  of  England,  as  to  endanger  the 
loss  of  our  Charter,  &  the  Liberties  and  Estates  of  the 
People,  which  to  prevent,  Mr.  Attorney  tells  you,  was 
the  very  Consideration  that  principally  determined  him  at 
that  time  so  freely  to  Communicate  his  Thoughts  to  your 


308  Colonial  Currency 

self  in  that  Matter;  with  the  several  other  fine  flourishes 
and  plausible  Insinuations,  whereby  he  would  induce  you  to 
believe  that  in  all  this  Affair  he  hath  sincerely  aimed  at  the 
Publick  Good,  and  effectually  to  prevent  any  Attempts  that 
might  be  made  against  our  Liberties  and  Priviledges,  which 
no  doubt  he  is  intirely  fond  of,  &  always  was  vigilant  & 
industrious  to  maintain  and  defend.  If  he  has  sincerely 
given  you  his  Opinion  respecting  the  Private  Bank,  and  the 
direful  effects  of  it,  with  what  sort  of  sincerity  did  he  when 
he  says  he  had  the  Honour  to  be  of  an  Extraordinary  Com¬ 
mittee  Raised  for  that  purpose,  give  it  as  his  Opinion,  that 
considering  the  demand  as  to  the  Taxes,  &  the  great  occa¬ 
sion  of  the  People,  as  to  their  Trade,  it  might  be  convenient 
to  Make  and  Issue  out  a  further  quantity  of  the  Publick 
Bills  of  Credit :  And  now  in  his  Letter  spend  so  much  time, 
and  take  such  pains,  and  argue  to  persuade  the  General 
Court  to  set  up  a  Bank  of  Credit  themselves,  Emit  their 
Bills,  and  take  Interest  for  the  same.  Is  it  not  as  possible 
for  the  Government  to  Erect,  [17]  Set  up  and  Establish 
things  contrary  to  the  Law,  as  for  a  Number  of  Private 
Persons ;  and  does  not  the  Law  of  England  which  he  saith 
would  be  broke  in  upon,  by  Erecting  a  Private  Bank,  much 
more  respect  a  Corporation  than  Private  Persons;  and 
which  he  himself  readily  grants  it  doth.  Is  not  this  then 
one  effectual  way  to  endanger  the  Constitution  of  the  Gov¬ 
ernment,  the  utter  Ruin  &  Loss  of  the  Charter,  &  the  many 
Liberties  we  hold  &  enjoy  thereby.  For  if  a  Number  of 
private  Persons  break  in  upon  the  Law  of  England  they 
may  be  severally  punished  therefor;  But  if  a  Corporation 
or  Government  like  Ours,  Set  up  and  Enact  things  contrary 
to  the  Law  of  England ,  doubtless  the  way  to  punish  them 


Reprint  309 

would  be  by  Loss  of  their  Charter  and  Priviledges  granted 
thereby.  So  that  upon  the  whole  Matter,  whether  his 
Letter  was  not  rather  to  Lull  you  asleep  if  possibly  he 
could,  that  then  he  might  bring  you  into  the  Practice  of 
such  things,  which  hereafter  you,  and  all  of  us  might  have 
sufficient  Reason  to  lament  and  be  grieved  for,  but  when  too 
late;  than  in  the  last  measure  to  awaken  the  Government 
that  they  might  be  upon  their  Guard  against  any  Attempts 
to  undermine  them.  Because  having  lately  seen  a  Book 
Printed  in  London ,  Anno  1708.  Intituled,  The  Deplorable 
State  of  New-England,  &c.  In  which  is  a  Letter  in  the 
Words  following. 

[18] 

Boston,  January  12th,  1703,  4. 

Dear  Kinsman, 

I  Confess  I  am  ashamed  almost  to  think  I  should  be  at 
Home  so  long ,  and  not  let  you  know  of  it  till  now  ;  Tho  after 
all  a  New  England  Correspondence  is  scarce  worth  yotir 
having  .  .  .  I  Refer  you  to  Mr.  .  .  .for  an  Account  of  every 
thing ,  especially  about  the  Government  and  the  Colledge ,  both 
which  are  discoursed  of  here  in  Chimney  Corners  and  Private 
Meetings  as  confidently  as  can  be.  If  there  should  be  any 
occasion  you  must  be  sure  to  stir  your  self  and  Friends ,  and 
shew  your  Affection  and  Respect  to  my  Father ;  who  loves  you 
well,  and  bid  me  tell  you  so.  .  .  .  This  Country  will  never  be 
worth  Livmg  in  for  Lawyers  and  Gentlemen ,  till  the  Charter 
is  taken  away.  My  Father  and  I  sometimes  talk  of  the 
Queens  establishing  a  Court  of  Chancery  in  this  Country . 
I  have  Wrote  about  it  to  Mr.  Blathwayt :  If  the  Matter 
should  succeed,  you  might  get  some  place  worth  your  Return , 


3io 


Colonial  Currency 

of  which  I  should  be  very  glad.  If  I  can  any  ways  serve  you 
or  your  Friends ,  Pray  signifie  it  to 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  Affectionate  Friend, 
and  Humble  Servant, 

Paul  Dudley . 

[19]  Surely  such  a  particular  Favour  done  this  Country, 
loudly  calls  upon  every  good  Inhabitant  within  the  same,  to 
be  always  paying  his  proper  thanks:  And  may  it  not  very 
justly  raise  some  doubts  of  his  sincerity  in  seeking  the  true 
Interest  of  this  Country;  or  at  least  whether  he  doth  not 
vastly  differ  in  his  Opinion  from  the  most  and  best  of  Men 
among  us,  concerning  what  are  our  good  and  valuable 
Liberties  and  Priviledges. 

Sir,  We  take  no  Pleasure  in  Rehearsing  these  things  to 
you,  but  were  necessitated  thus  to  do,  lest  by  the  aforesaid 
Letter  in  which  he  asserts,  page  21.  that  as  yet  they  have 
not  Consulted  the  Government  in  the  whole  Affair;  We 
might  be  thought  to  be  in  any  wise  endeavouring  to  break 
in  upon  the  Constitution  of  this  Government,  and  conse¬ 
quently  the  Priviledges  and  Liberties  we  enjoy  by  the 
Charter,  which  we  highly  esteem  of,  and  shall  never  be 
wanting  to  do  what  in  us  lies  for  the  long  and  well  securing 
thereof. 

A  very  considerable  part  of  his  Letter  being  on  the  praise 
of  Money,  Silver  and  Gold,  and  his  Contrivance  to  store  the 
Country  with  it,  Regulating  the  Trade  of  the  Country,  and 
the  Extravagance  of  the  Inhabitants  far  beyond  their  Cir¬ 
cumstances  in  their  Purchases,  Buildings,  Expences,  Appar- 


Reprint  3 1 1 

rel,  &c.  being  not  to  the  present  purpose,  we  shall  not 
trouble  you  with  an  Answer  thereto. 

[20]  We  doubt  not  but  upon  your  Reading  this  our  just 
Defence,  you  will  be  sufficiently  enabled  to  make  proper 
Thoughts  upon  the  whole  design  of  that  Gentleman,  as  well 
as  our  Projection;  which  seeing  it  hath  laboured  under  so 
many  needless  Aspersions,  shall  take  this  occasion  to  Print 
the  same ;  that  every  one  that  pleases  may  have  the  Perusal 
and  Examination  thereof:  whereby  they  will  perceive  his 
Letter  to  be  Pandoras  Box ,  and  not  the  INNOCENT 
PROJECTION. 

Dated  at  Boston,  in  New- 
England,  Decemb.  20.  1714. 

We  are,  Sir, 

Your  very  Humble  Servants, 

Samuel  Lynde ,  ^ 

To  the  Contents,  except 
the  Letter  taken  out 
of  a  Book. 

E.  Lyde 
John  Colman 

Elisha  Cooke,  jun.  j  At  the  Desire, 

J.  Oulton  in  behalf  of 

Timothy  Thornton  J  the  Partnership. 

Oliver  Noyes 
William  Pain 
Nath .  Oliver . 


31  2 


Colonial  Currency 


NOTE  TO  “  A  VINDICATION  OF  THE  BANK  OF  CREDIT,”  etc. 

The  natural  order  of  precedence  of  these  pamphlets  would  seem 
to  require  that  the  “  Projection  ”  of  the  bank  should  be  placed  before 
its  “  Vindication.”  Yet,  if  one  reads  carefully  the  last  paragraph  of 
the  “  Vindication  ”  he  will  see  that  the  publication  of  the  “  Projec¬ 
tion  ”  is  there  promised.  Consequently,  having  due  regard  for  the 
chronological  sequence  of  the  appearance  of  these  publications,  so 
far  as  it  can  be  determined,  we  must  place  the  “  Vindication  ”  before 
the  “  Projection.” 

It  is  a  pamphlet  of  twenty  pages,  and  was  when  untrimmed  prob¬ 
ably  what  we  should  term  a  i6mo.  The  leaves  of  the  copy  exam¬ 
ined  now  measure  6  by  3  j  inches.  The  copy  of  the  pamphlet  of 
which  we  make  use  and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were  origi¬ 
nally  obtained  for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Copies  of  the 
“  Vindication  ”  are  to  be  found  upon  the  shelves  of  several  of  our 
libraries.1 

Samuel  Lynde  who  leads  i;he  list  of  subscribers  to  the  “  Vindica¬ 
tion  ”  was  a  son  of  Simon  Lynde,  whose  name  appeared  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  proposed  bank  of  1686.  He  was  prominent  in  local 
affairs  in  Boston  for  many  years,  but  was  never  selected  by  his  fel¬ 
low  citizens  for  any  conspicuous  office.  He  was  overseer  of  the 
poor,  assessor,  one  of  the  committee  to  audit  the  treasurer’s  ac¬ 
counts,  was  appointed  on  special  committees  of  several  sorts  where 
the  services  of  tactful,  judicious  men  were  required,  and  was  for 
many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  connected  with  the 
military,  and  his  name  appears  in  the  History  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  286.  In  1711  he  was 
nominated  as  a  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  but  was  rejected 
by  the  council.  He  served,  in  1704,  upon  a  commission  to  inter¬ 
view  the  governors  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  on  a  question 

1  Boston  Public  Library,  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston  Athe¬ 
naeum,  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Harvard  University,  Library  of  Congress. 


Note 


3*3 


relative  to  their  assuming  their  proportionate  part  in  the  Indian 
War,  and  received  the  thanks  of  the  general  court  for  his  services.1 

Edward  Lyde,  whose  name  follows  that  of  Lynde,  was  a  mer¬ 
chant.  In  1 71 1,  when  the  province  fitted  out  an  expedition  against 
Quebec,  he  was  one  of  the  merchants  who  borrowed  bills  of  public 
credit  from  the  government,  through  which  loan  they  were  enabled 
to  carry  the  sterling  drafts  of  General  Hill  and  Admiral  Walker, 
which  drafts  it  was  realized  would  not  be  promptly  paid.  For  this 
service  the  merchants  received  the  thanks  of  the  general  court.  He 
held  for  several  years  the  offices  of  overseer  of  the  poor  and  asses¬ 
sor,  was  a  warden  of  King’s  Chapel,  and  from  1715  to  1723  was  a 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  He  was  also  for  many  years 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honourable  Artillery  Company.2 

John  Colman,  whose  name  appears  next  upon  the  list  of  sub¬ 
scribers  to  the  letter  in  vindication  of  the  bank,  although  not  con¬ 
spicuous  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  province,  became  associated 
with  the  financial  episode  which  we  are  especially  considering  in 
such  a  way  as  to  leave  a  much  more  striking  record  than  any  of  his 
fellow  subscribers.  He  was  active  in  town  affairs,  having  run  the 
usual  routine  of  the  Boston  business  men  of  that  day,  in  the  way  of 
service  upon  town  committees,  as  selectman,  and  in  sundry  subordi¬ 
nate  positions.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Brattle  Square 
Church,  and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  Later  on  he  took  part  in 
the  pamphlet  discussion  favoring  a  private  bank  which  should  emit 
bills  upon  land  security,  and  in  1720  submitted  a  scheme  for  a  bank, 
based  upon  the  scheme  which  he  was  now  vindicating.  In  1739  the 
call  of  the  assembly  for  schemes  brought  him  to  the  front.  The 
Land  Bank  of  1740,  the  outcome  of  the  agitation  in  the  fall  of  1739, 
made  him  famous. 

Elisha  Cooke,  Jr.,  was  a  conspicuous  man  in  provincial  politics  and 
was  much  favored  at  the  time  of  his  entrance  upon  political  life  by 
the  great  power  and  popularity  of  his  father.  He  held  office  of 
some  sort,  sometimes  several  at  the  same  time,  during  the  greater 

1  Acts  and  Resolves,  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  99. 

2  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  343. 


314  Colonial  Currency 

part  of  his  active  life.  He  served  the  town,  as  did  most  of  his 
friends,  in  many  ways,  filling  sundry  minor  offices,  acting  on 
committees,  and  serving  as  selectman.  He  was  an  officer  in  the 
Boston  militia  and  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artil¬ 
lery  Company.1  He  was  several  times  a  representative,  was  clerk 
of  the  superior  court,  agent  of  the  province  to  England,  member 
of  the  council,  and  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas. 

His  personal  activity  as  a  politician  led  him  into  hostile  contact 
with  the  government,  and  he  was  removed  from  his  position  as  clerk 
of  the  superior  court  by  Governor  Shute.  When  elected  coun¬ 
cillor  in  1718,  his  election  was  negatived  by  the  governor.  When 
elected  speaker  of  the  house  in  1720,  the  governor  attempted  to 
apply  his  negative,  a  proceeding  which  met  with  a  protest  from  the 
house  of  representatives  and  a  refusal  to  recognize  the  power  of 
the  governor  to  control  in  any  way  the  election  of  the  speaker.  To 
escape  from  the  predicament  in  which  the  attempted  negative  had 
placed  him  the  governor  was  compelled  to  prorogue  the  assem¬ 
bly.  Cooke  became  prominent  in  consequence  of  this  contest  and 
published  a  pamphlet  discussing  the  legal  questions  involved. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  fell  under  suspicion  of  seeking  to 
curry  favor  from  the  government,  and  his  popularity  was  much 
abated. 

John  Oulton  has  left  scarcely  a  trace  of  his  existence  in  the  rec¬ 
ords.  We  find  him  serving  as  constable  and  tything  man.  Refer¬ 
ence  is  made  to  his  dwelling  house  on  Marlborough  Street  He 
was  a  prominent  member  of  King’s  Chapel,  of  which  he  was  a  war¬ 
den.  He  was  interested  in  land  in  some  of  the  new  towns  in  the  in¬ 
terior.  He  was  one  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  general  court 
to  destroy  a  batch  of  defaced  and  worn-out  bills  of  public  credit. 
At  a  later  date  he  joined  in  a  petition  to  the  general  court  with 
“  other  persons  in  Marblehead  ”  interested  in  fishing,  for  protection 
of  the  herring  fishery  against  seining  on  Cape  Cod.2 

Timothy  Thornton  was  a  shipbuilder  and  was  a  lessor  from  the 
town  of  Boston  of  wharf  property.  He  owned  more  or  less  real  es- 

1  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  317. 

2  Acts  and  Resolves,  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  X,  p.  737. 


Note 


3i5 


tate  in  Boston  and  served  the  town  in  various  subordinate  offices  as 
well  as  upon  committees.  He  was  elected  selectmen  in  1706,  but 
declined  to  serve.  He  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  sign 
the  first  bills  of  public  credit  emitted  by  the  colony  in  1690  and  was 
a  representative  in  1693,  94>  95 *  and  9 6.  He  found  mention  in  the 
History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I, 
p.  288. 

Oliver  Noyes  figures  in  the  records  sometimes  as  captain  and 
sometimes  as  doctor.  He  was  an  active,  energetic  man,  a  practis¬ 
ing  physician,  and  a  servant  of  the  town  in  the  various  activities  to 
which  his  fellow  citizens  from  time  to  time  summoned  him.  He 
served  in  the  militia,  was  repeatedly  elected  selectman  and  for  many 
years  represented  Boston  in  the  assembly.  In  1708  he  was  put 
upon  a  committee  to  effect  the  sale  of  lands  belonging  to  the  town 
of  Boston.  This  committee  recommended  that  the  amount  derived 
from  the  sale  be  set  aside  and  the  “  income  forever  impropriated 
and  improved  for  a  School  for  Writing  and  Arithmetick.” 1  Hutch¬ 
inson  speaks  of  him  as  “  a  gentleman  in  great  esteem  with  the  in¬ 
habitants  in  general,”  and  in  noticing  his  death  says :  “  He  was 
strongly  attached  to  the  popular  party  and  highly  esteemed  by  them.”  2 
A  pamphlet  entitled  “  A  Letter  From  a  Gentleman  Containing  Some 
Remarks  upon  the  Several  Answers  given  unto  Mr.  Colman’s,” 
etc.,  which  was  published  in  1720  and  is  devoted  to  a  defence  by 
Colman,  is  attributed  to  Dr.  Noyes.  A  sketch  of  his  life  is  to  be  found 
in  the  “  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company, 
Vol.  I,  p.  319.  His  name  occurs  thirty-four  times  in  the  printed 
index  to  Vol.  IX,  of  the  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Bay.  An  examination  of  these  references  will  show  the 
wide  field  in  which  the  assembly  made  use  of  him. 

The  next  name  upon  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  “  Vindication  ”  is 
that  of  William  Pain.  Any  person  who  shall  look  at  the  Boston 
Records  covering  this  period  will  find  that  there  were  either  several 
persons  bearing  the  names  of  Pain,  Paine,  Payn  and  Payne,  or  that 
the  clerk  spelled  the  same  name  in  these  different  ways.  Moreover, 

1  Eighth  Report  Boston  Record  Commissioners,  p.  56. 

2  History  of  Massachusetts,  Vol.  II,  p.  189.  Ibid,  p.  225. 


3 1 6  Colonial  Currency 

he  will  find  mention  of  a  William  of  that  name,  if  we  count  all  these 
names  as  the  different  spelling  of  one  name,  who  is  described  as  a 
joiner,  and  again  the  same  William,  or  another,  who  is  called  a  black¬ 
smith.  On  the  whole  it  may  safely  be  said  that  there  were  at  least 
two  William  Pains,  if  for  the  moment  we  spell  the  name  thus,  at  that 
time  in  Boston,  —  the  one  a  respectable  mechanic  who  held  several 
minor  offices  and  performed  such  civic  duties  at  the  call  of  his  fel¬ 
low  citizens  as  would  naturally  be  expected  from  a  man  in  his  position 
in  life ;  the  other  a  man  of  means,  evidently  possessed  of  consider¬ 
able  real  property,  who  was  elected  from  time  to  time  to  positions 
of  honor  and  responsibility  by  his  fellow  townsmen.  In  selecting 
from  the  records  the  incidents  which  apply  to  the  particular  William 
Pain  who  signed  the  “  Vindication,”  we  have  nothing  to  guide  us,  ex¬ 
cept  the  fact  that  the  names  placed  there  were  undoubtedly  chosen 
because  of  their  assumed  influence  in  pecuniary  as  well  as  moral 
affairs  over  their  fellow  citizens.  After  January  14,  1711,  12,  the 
claims  of  the  joiner  for  consideration  are  eliminated.  Sewall  records 
his  death  on  that  day.1  We  can  not  go  far  wrong,  then,  if  we  should 
identify  the  signer  of  the  “  Vindication  ”  as  William  Payne,  a  Harvard 
graduate  of  the  class  of  1689,  of  whose  life  Sibley  gives  a  sketch  in 
Harvard  Graduates,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  409,  et  seq.  He  was,  as  a  young  man, 
in  the  revenue  service,  having  a  commission  under  Governor  Stough¬ 
ton  in  the  impost  office  and  a  commission  under  Lord  Bellomont  as 
collector.  He  was  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Suffolk  for  several  years, 
and  for  a  time  was  commissioner  of  the  excise.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company  2  and  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church.  He  was  for  a  time  a 
representative,  and  at  one  period  served  as  clerk  of  the  house  of 
representatives. 

Nathaniel  Oliver  was,  just  prior  to  and  after  1700,  a  representa¬ 
tive  from  Boston  in  the  assembly.  He  is  generally  spoken  of  in  the 
Boston  Records  as  Captain  Nathaniel  Oliver,  and  served  the  town 
from  time  to  time  in  some  of  the  minor  offices.  While  a  repre¬ 
sentative  he  was  one  of  the  subscribers  to  the  association  established 

1  Sewall’s  Diary,  Vol.  II,  p.  332. 

2  History  of  the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company,  Vol.  I,  p.  287. 


Note 


3i7 


under  act  of  parliament  “  for  the  better  securing  of  His  Majesties 
royal  person  and  government.”  1  Through  a  petition  brought  by 
him  to  the  general  court  in  1696,  for  relief  from  a  ruling  of  a  court 
held  at  Edgartown,  it  was  discovered  that  the  commissions  of  the 
justices  limited  their  jurisdiction  to  Martha’s  Vineyard.  Oliver’s  suit 
related  to  land  in  an  adjoining  island  and  the  ruling  of  the  court, 
denying  him  relief,  was  sustained  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  jurisdic¬ 
tion.2  He  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Brattle.3 

1  Acts  and  Resolves,  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VII,  p.  121,  and 
p.  512. 

2  Acts  and  Resolves,  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VII,  p.  no,  and 
p.  495- 

#  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  Vol.  I,  p.  580. 


A 


I 

I  l 

( 
t 


For  Eredtmg  a 


In  Bojlon ,  New-England. 
Founded  on 


$ 


* 

! 


PROJECTION 

For  Eredling  a 

BANK 

CREDIT 

In  Bojlon ,  New-England. 
Founded  on 

LAND 

Security. 

Printed  in  the  Year  1714. 


320 


Colonial  Currency 


[s] 

A 

PROJECTION 
For  Erecting  a  Bank  of 
Credit. 


To  all  to  whom  these  Presents 
shall  come,  We  whose  Names 
are  hereunto  Subscrib’d,  and 
Seals  affix’d,  send  Greeting. 

WHEREAS  there  is  a  sensible  decay  of  Trade  within 
His  Majesties  Plantations  in  New-England,  for  want  of  a 
Medium  of  Exchange ,  wherewith  to  carry  on  the  same ;  the 
Running  Cash  being  Exported \  and  considerable  Sums  of  the 
Bills  of  Credit  ptit  forth  by  the  Government ,  which  had  their 
[6]  Circulation  and  supported  the  Trade  being  already  drawn 
in ,  and  the  remaining  lessening  Yearly ,  by  the  payment  of 
the  Taxes ,  and  other  Publick  Dues ;  so  that  without  a  Me¬ 
dium,  the  Trade  must  necessarily  decay ,  to  the  unspeakable 
detriment  of  the  Landed  Interest  as  well  as  the  Trading 
Party  ;  and  their  being  no  other  Expedient  in  our  view  for 
the  Reviving  and  Encouraging  of  Trade ,  and  facilitating 
Returns  for  Goods  and  Merchandizes  Imported  from  Great 
Britain,  but  by  Establishing  a  Fund  or  Bank  of  Credit  upon 
Land  Security ,  which  may  give  the  Bills  Issued  therefrom  a 
General  Currency  amongst  us. 

We  therefore  the  Subscribers,  Parties  to  these  Presents , 
for  the  more  effectual  Erecting  and  sure  Establishing  of  such 


Reprint  321 

a  Fund  or  Bank  of  Credit ,  do  mutually  Covenant ,  Consent 
and  Agree  as  follows: 

1.  THAT  the  Subscriptions  shall  be  taken  to  a  Value 
not  exceeding  Three  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds ,  and  that 
every  Subscriber  shall  Settle  and  Make  Over  a  Real  Estate 
to  the  value  of  his  Respective  Subscription,  to  the  Trustees 
of  the  Partnership  or  Bank,  to  be  and  remain  as  a  Fund  or 
Security  for  such  Bills  as  shall  be  Emitted  therefrom ;  which 
Emission  shall  not  exceed  the  Subscription,  and  will  make 
good  all  deficiencies  that  shall  arise  from  any  Neglect, 
[7]  Default  or  Mismanagement  of  any  of  the  Officers  or 
Members  of  this  Partnership  or  Bank. 

2.  That  no  Person  shall  Subscribe  above  Four  Thousand 
Pounds ,  nor  under  Two  Hundred  and  Fifty  Pounds ;  and 
each  Subscriber  shall  take  out  and  keep  for  two  years  at 
least,  one  quarter  part  of  his  Subscription,  and  not  exceed 
one  half  part  by  virtue  of  his  first  Mortgage,  paying  Interest 
therefor,  according  to  the  Rules  of  this  Partnership. 

3.  That  we  will  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times  for 
ever  hereafter  give  Credit  to  the  Bills  Emitted  from  this 
Fund  or  Bank,  equal  to  what  is  given  to  the  Bills  of  Credit 
on  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts-Bay ,  and  to  accept  the 
said  Bills  in  all  Payments  (Specialties  and  Obligations  for 
any  other  Specie  excepted)  upon  Forfeiture  of  Fifty  Pounds 
for  each  refusal,  until  the  Refuser  has  forfeited  his  whole 
Security  and  Profits;  and  every  such  Person  having  so 
forfeited,  shall  no  longer  be  accounted  a  Member  of  this 
Partnership,  but  be  deemed  ipso  facto  dismist,  and  lose  his 
Interest  therein. 

4.  That  it  shall  be  free  for  any  Person  or  Persons  not 
being  of  this  Partnership  or  Bank,  to  borrow  Bills,  or  have 

VOL.  I  —  21 


322 


Colonial  Currency 

Credit  out  of  said  [8]  Bank,  giving  Security  according  to 
the  Rules  hereof,  and  on  Payment  of  the  Principal  and 
Interest,  their  Mortgage  or  Deposuit,  shall  be  released  and 
discharged. 

5.  That  in  all  Matters  to  be  transacted  and  Voted  in  the 
General  Meeting  of  the  Subscribers  of  this  Partnership  or 
Bank ;  every  such  Person  who  hath  Subscribed  Two  Hun¬ 
dred  and  Fifty  Pounds ,  shall  have  one  Vote,  Five  Hundred 
Pounds  two  Votes,  Seven  Hundred  and  Fifty  Pounds  three 
Votes,  One  Thousand  Pounds  four  Votes,  Twelve  Hundred 
and  Fifty  Pounds  five  Votes;  and  no  person  shall  have 
above  five  Votes,  how  great  soever  his  Subscription  to,  or 
Interest  in  this  Bank  is,  or  shall  be. 

6.  That  the  Interest  to  be  paid  on  all  Bills  Issued  out, 
whether  on  Persons  Mortgages  or  Deposuits,  shall  not  ex¬ 
ceed  Five  Pounds  per  Cent  per  Annum . 

7.  That  there  shall  be  at  no  time  Emitted  from  this  Part¬ 
nership  or  Bank,  any  Bills  of  Credit,  but  upon  good  Secu¬ 
rity,  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Directors  for  the  time  being, 
at  the  Rates  and  Values  following, 

On  Rateable  Estates  two  Thirds  of  the  Value. 

On  Wooden  Houses  without  Farms,  not  exceeding  the 
Value  of  the  Lands  belonging  to  them. 

M  On  Brick  Houses  not  exceeding  the  Value  of  the 
Land  belonging  to  them,  and  half  the  value  of  the  Lands 
according  to  their  different  Circumstances. 

On  Gold  not  exceeding  Five  Pounds  Ten  Shillings  per 
Ounce. 

On  Silver  not  exceeding  Six  Shillings  and  Eight  Pence 
per  Ounce. 

On  Iron  and  other  unperishable  Commodities,  as  a 


Reprint  323 

Pledge  for  one  half,  or  two  thirds,  according  to  the 
Market. 

8.  And  whereas  for  the  Security  of  this  Partnership  or 
Bank,  it  is  agreed,  that  there  shall  be  Chosen  seven  persons 
in  trust  of  good  Interest,  known  Integrity  and  Reputation, 
and  that  to  them  or  any  five  of  them,  and  such  other  persons 
as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  Chosen  and  Appointed  by  the 
major  part  of  the  Votes  of  the  Members  of  this  Partnership 
then  present  to  Use  and  Exercise  the  aforesaid  Trust:  All 
Estates  to  be  settled,  shall  be  Conveyed  for  the  ends  afore¬ 
said,  and  that  the  Trustees  for  the  time  being,  shall  have  full 
power  by  Order  in  Writing,  under  the  Hands  of  the  major 
part  of  the  Directors,  to  Commence  any  Suit  at  Law  against 
any  of  the  Mortgagers,  and  make  what  Releases  and  Assign¬ 
ment  shall  be  thought  necessary,  for  the  Use  of  this  Partner¬ 
ship;  and  that  the  Trustees  for  the  time  being,  shall  be 
Obliged  to  Sign  and  Execute  a  ge-[10]neral  Instrument, 
Binding  and  Obliging  Themselves,  their  Heirs  and  Execu¬ 
tors  unto  the  Directors  for  the  time  being,  not  to  do  any 
thing  by  way  of  Release  or  Assignment ;  or  Commence  any 
Suit  at  Law  against  any  of  the  Mortgagers,  but  by  Order  in 
Writing,  under  the  Hands  of  the  Directors,  and  to  the  Use 
of  this  Partnership:  The  said  Trustees  disclaiming  all  Right 
and  Property  in  any  Mortgage  or  Conveyance  to  them  by 
virtue  of  their  Trusteeship. 

FURTHERMORE,  That  the  said  Trustees  do  from  time 
to  time  attend  and  perform  all  such  Orders  relating  to  this 
Affair,  as  shall  be  given  in  Writing  at  any  time  by  the  Direc¬ 
tors,  or  the  major  part  of  them ;  and  that  it  shall  be  in  the 
power  of  this  Partnership,  by  the  major  Votes  present  in  a 
General  Meeting,  to  Remove  the  said  Trustees  if  they  shall 


324  Colonial  Currency 

see  cause,  and  to  choose  and  place  in  their  stead  others. 
And  that  A.  and  B. 

Esqrs.  C.  D. 

E.  F.  and  G. 

Merchants,  all  of  Boston ,  in  the  County  of  Suffolk ,  in  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts- Bay  in  New- England,  be  the 
first  Trustees  of  this  Partnership  or  Bank  of  Credit;  and 
that  to  them,  or  any  five  of  them,  and  the  Trustees  for  the 
time  being,  all  the  Estates  to  be  settled  shall  be  Conveyed 
in  Trust;  which  Trustees  shall  [11]  continue  in  their  Sta¬ 
tions  until  their  respective  Death,  Removal  or  Resignment. 

FURTHERMORE,  We  do  Covenant  and  Agree,  that 
the  said  Trustees  shall  be  Indempnified  at  all  times  by  this 
Partnership  or  Bank  from  all  Charges  and  Damages  which 
they  shall  sustain,  or  be  put  to  by  reason  of  their  Trust,  or 
the  due  Execution  thereof ;  &  none  of  them  shall  be  charge¬ 
able  for  the  acts  or  defaults  of  any  other  but  his  faults  only. 
And  for  their  Encouragement  and  Reward,  they  shall  have 
Annually  paid  to  them  out  of  the  Profits,  Thirty  Pounds 
each,  which  Sum  may  be  augmented  at  the  Annual  Meeting, 
if  it  be  found  insufficient. 

9.  That  there  shall  be  a  General  Meeting  of  the  Sub¬ 
scribers  in  some  convenient  place  in  the  Town  of  Boston 
aforesaid,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  June  Annually,  where,  by 
the  major  part  of  the  Votes  present,  there  shall  be  Elected 
to  Serve  for  one  year  next  ensuing,  until  others  be  Chosen 
in  their  room  ;  Officers  for  managing  the  Affair  of  this  Part¬ 
nership  or  Bank,  on  such  Salaries  for  their  Service,  as  are, 
or  shall  afterwards  be  agreed  on.  That  is  to  say , 

Seven  Directors,  who  shall  from  time  to  time  Choose  one 
of  their  Number  to  preside;  Four  of  which  Number  shall 


Reprint  325 

have  power  to- act;  &  in  case  of  equal  Votes,  the  President 
to  have  the  Casting. 

That  these  seven  Directors  shall  be  Impow-[12]red  to  call 
General  Meetings  of  the  Subscribers  on  all  important  Occa¬ 
sions,  and  shall  be  proper  judges  of  all  Securities  to  be  taken 
into  this  Bank,  and  have  power  to  appoint  persons  to  apprize 
and  report  the  value  of  all  Estates  to  be  taken  as  Securities, 
to  give  Directions  to  the  Trustees  for  Releases  upon  pay¬ 
ment  of  Mortgages,  under  such  Regulations  as  are  or  shall 
hereafter  be  made  for  the  good  government  thereof;  none  to 
be  capable  of  this  Office,  but  such  as  shall  Subscribe  Five 
Hundred  Pounds  in  this  Bank. 

One  Treasurer,  who  by  Order,  and  under  the  Hands  of 
the  Directors,  or  the  major  part  of  them  shall  be  impowred 
to  pass  out  Bank  Bills,  and  shall  inspect  and  regulate  the 
Books  and  Accompts  of  this  Partnership,  and  shall  have 
the  direction  of  the  Clerks  in  order  thereto ;  which  Treas¬ 
urer  shall  find  Security  to  be  bound  with  him  in  the  Sum  of 
Ten  Thousand  Pounds . 

One  Head  Clerk,  and  one  Under  Clerk  or  more  if  need 
be;  each  of  whom  shall  give  to  the  Trustees  of  this  Partner¬ 
ship,  One  Thousand  Pounds  Security  or  more  if  it  shall  be 
hereafter  thought  needful,  and  shall  be  Obliged  to  keep  two 
setts  of  Books  for  the  Affairs  of  this  Partnership,  and  give 
their  daily  attendance  at  such  stated  hours  as  shall  be  ap¬ 
pointed,  and  observe  such  Orders  as  they  shall  receive  from 
the  Directors  or  Treasurer:  And  in  case  of  the  Death  [13] 
of  any  of  the  Clerks,  or  removal  by  the  Directors  for  mis¬ 
management,  it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  Directors  to 
appoint  others  to  Serve  in  their  stead,  until  the  next  Annual 
Meeting,  taking  Security  as  aforesaid. 


326  Colonial  Currency 

10.  That  for  the  maintaining  of  the  Credit  of  this  Part¬ 
nership,  and  preventing  Frauds,  We  oblige  our  selves,  that 
the  Books  be  always  free  to  the  inspection  of  the  Subscribers 
and  Owners,  and  that  they  be  posted  up  every  day  if  possible; 
Cast  up  and  Ballanced  once  a  year,  to  be  offered  to  the 
Annual  Meeting  on  the  First  Tuesday  in  June\  That  there 
be  a  perfect  Register  or  Entry  made  of  all  Mortgages  and 
Pawns  made  to  this  Partnership,  of  all  Assignments  and 
Releases. 

11.  For  the  further  ease  of  this  Partnership,  and  for 
preventing  of  Frauds,  we  hereby  agree,  that  any  person  in¬ 
terested  in  the  same,  who  doth  not  see  reason  to  take  out 
Bills,  he  shall  have  Credit  in  the  Books,  and  liberty  to 
transfer  all  or  any  part  of  his  Credit  to  any  person  not 
under  Ten  Pounds  at  an  Entry,  the  person  transfering  to 
return  his  Note  if  any  given,  &  a  new  Note  given  to  the 
person  transfered  to,  under  the  Hand  of  the  Treasurer,  and 
that  the  Treasurer  at  the  request  of  any  Owners  of  Notes  so 
Emitted,  shall  exchange  the  same  for  Bills,  discharging  the 
Accompt  of  Notes,  and  charging  the  Accompt  of  Bills;  and 
that  there  shall  be  a  Committee  of  six  ap-[l4]pointed  to 
prepare,  sign,  indent  &  perfect  such  a  Number  of  Bills  as 
shall  be  agreed  on  by  this  Partnership,  to  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  Treasurer,  and  issued  out  by  Order  of  the 
Directors  according  to  the  Rules  of  this  Partnership,  which 
Committee  shall  continue,  until  the  Partnership  shall 
see  reason  to  alter  them,  and  four  of  them  to  sign  every 
Bill. 

12.  That  in  Case  any  person  or  persons  shall  refuse  to 
pay  their  Interest  for  two  months  after  it  becomes  due,  he 
shall  pay  after  the  rate  of  six  per  Cent  per  Annum  from  the 


327 


Reprint 

time  it  becomes  due,  until  he  make  payment;  and  if  any 
person  Indebted  to  this  Partnership  be  desirous  to  lessen 
his  Debt,  he  shall  be  allow’d  to  pay  in  any  even  Sum,  not 
under  Twenty  Five  Pounds ;  but  if  any  person  shall  redeem 
his  Mortgage  or  Deposuit,  or  lessen  his  Debt,  in  less  than 
three  Months  time  after  the  making  thereof,  he  shall  yet  pay 
three  Months  Interest  for  the  same;  and  in  case  he  can’t 
pay  in  Bank  Bills,  he  may  pay  in  Province  Bills,  or  Current 
Silver  Mony. 

13.  If  any  person  shall  not  redeem  his  Pawn  deposited, 
the  continuance  whereof  shall  be  hazardous,  or  i\pt  pay  his 
Interest  for  the  same  at  the  time  agreed  on,  it  shall  be  law¬ 
ful  for  the  Directors  of  this  Partnership,  upon  three  months 
notice  given,  to  Dispose  and  make  Sale  of  such  Pledge,  at 
the  best  Rates  they  can,  rendring  the  Overplus,  if  any  be, 
to  the  Depositor  ;  or  if  any  Security  given,  appear  to  be  [15] 
doubtful  in  the  Judgment  of  the  Directors;  it  shall  be  law¬ 
ful  for  them  to  demand  a  renewal  or  augmentation  of  such 
or  other  Security,  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  this  Partnership. 

14.  When  the  Bills  Emitted  shall  be  much  worn,  to  avoid 
pasting  or  covering  of  them,  the  Possessors  may  have  them 
exchang’d,  and  the  old  Bills  so  return’d  after  they  have  been 
Examin’d,  and  an  Accompt  taken  of  them,  shall  be  Burnt 
by  a  Committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  whose  Attesta¬ 
tion  in  Writing  that  they  have  been  Consum’d  into  Ashes, 
shall  be  the  Treasurers  discharge  for  the  same. 

15.  That  the  neet  profits  arising  from  this  Partnership, 
shall  be,  and  belong  to  the  Subscribers  and  Owners  of  the 
same,  their  Heirs  and  Assigns,  in  proportion  to  their  re¬ 
spective  Subscriptions,  except  what  is  herein  otherwise  dis¬ 
pos’d  of,  and  shall  be  under  such  Regulations  as  shall  best 


328  Colonial  Currency 

answer  the  design  in  giving  a  Credit  to  this  Bank,  but  out  of 
the  profits  of  two  first  years,  the  Directors  shall  have  power 
to  purchase  or  build  suitable  Conveniences  for  the  Affairs  of 
this  Bank  before  any  Dividend  shall  be  made;  such  a  pur¬ 
chase  being  first  made,  the  neet  Proceeds  shall  be  divided 
amongst  the  Subscribers,  at  the  expiration  of  two  years;  but 
afterward  the  neet  Proceed  shall  be  divided  at  every  years 
Meeting  in  June. 

16.  That  when  and  so  often  as  by  the  [16]  Decease  or 
Alienation  of  any  Estate  by  any  Member  of  this  Partnership 
Mortgaged  to  the  Trustees  for  the  Uses  aforesaid,  shall 
happen  to  be  invested  in  any  other  Person  or  Persons ;  That 
such  Person  or  Persons  to  whom  such  Estate  shall  descend 
or  be  conveyed,  shall  within  three  Months  next  after,  give 
notice  to  the  Directors  for  the  time  being,  at  the  Office  of 
this  Bank,  that  so  Entry  of  the  same  be  made,  for  the  better 
direction  of  whom,  to  demand  the  Principal  and  Interest  of 
said  Estate ;  and  such  person  or  persons  shall  be  obliged  to 
observe  the  Rules,  Covenants  and  Agreements  of  this  Part¬ 
nership,  and  shall  be  esteem’d  a  Partner. 

1 7.  That  the  Bills  shall  be  of  several  Denominations  as 
shall  be  agreed  on,  and  of  the  tenour  following,  but  alterable, 
at  the  discretion  of  this  Partnership ;  the  Motto  to  be, 
Crescit  Eundo . 

THIS  INDENTED  BILL  OF  CREDIT,  Obliges  Us, 
and  every  of  Us,  and  all,  and  every  of  our  Partners  of  the 
Bank  of  Credit  of  Boston  in  New-England,  to  accept  the 
same  in  Lieu  of  Twenty  Shillings,  in  all  Payments,  according 
to  our  Articles  of  Agreement ;  and  that  it  shall  be  so  accepted 
by  our  Receiver  or  Treasurer,  for  the  Redemption  of  any 
Pawn  or  Mortgage  in  the  said  Bank . 


Reprint  329 

Boston,  November  First,  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred 
and  Fourteen . 

[17]  18.  That  every  Subscriber,  who  shall  Convey  his 

Estate  to  the  Trustees,  shall  enjoy  the  same,  the  Rents  and 
Profits  thereof,  until  by  his  default  in  not  paying  his  Interest, 
his  Mortgage  be  sued  out;  and  that  every  Subscriber,  who 
shall  settle  his  Estate  on  the  Trustees,  may  withdraw  the 
same,  upon  settling  another  Estate  of  like  value  in  its  room, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Directors ;  and  such  new  Estate  so 
settled,  shall  be  Entituled  to  the  Profits,  subject  to  the 
Charges  and  Losses  of  this  Bank,  as  the  former  Estate  so 
withdrawn  was. 

19.  And  for  a  further  benefit  to  the  Publick,  when  there 
shall  be  Emitted  and  Continued  at  Interest  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty  Thousand  Pounds ,  We  give  out  of  the  Neet  Profits 
of  this  Partnership,  the  Sums  following,  Viz . 

Four  Hundred  Pounds  per  Annum  to  the  Use  of  an  Hos¬ 
pital  or  Charity  School  for  the  Support  and  Education  of  the 
poor  Children  in  the  Town  of  Boston,  at  the  discretion  of  such 
Persons  as  shall  be  Chosen  Overseers  of  such  Schools  and  Hos¬ 
pitals  when  Erected:  Provided  the  Inhabitants  and  Free¬ 
holders  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  do ,  at  or  before  their  General 
Meeting  in  March,  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  [18]  and 
Fifteen,  order  the  Treasurer  to  accept  the  said  Bank  Bills  in 
payment  of  Town  Taxes  and  Assessments. 

Two  Hundred  Pounds  per  Annum,  to  be  paid  to  the 
Treasurer  of  Harvard  Colledge  in  Cambridge,  for  the  Uses 
following ;  Viz. 

Twenty  Pounds  per  Annum ,  for  a  Mathematical  Professor 
Residing  there ,  provided  he  Read  a  Publick  Lecture  once  a 
Month  on  that  Subject . 


330 


Colonial  Currency 

Forty  Pounds  per  Annum,  for  the  Encouragement  of  three 
Graduates  Residing  there ,  until  they  take  their  Masters 
Degree ,  to  be  equally  divided  amongst  them  ;  the  said  Grad¬ 
uates  to  refund  and  pay  back  so  far  as  they  have  Received ,  if 
they  depart  the  Colledge  before  that  time. 

One  Hundred  Pounds  per  Annum,  for  the  Support  of  six 
Ministers  Sons ,  to  be  equally  divided  amongst  them  ;  and  in 
Case  there  be  not  six  Ministers  Sons ,  then  the  remainder  to  be 
given  to  any  other  who  may  stand  in  most  need  thereof ;  the 
whole  Two  Hundred  Pounds  to  be  at  the  dispose  of  the 
Corporation . 

Forty  Pounds  per  Annum,  to  a  Professor  of  Phy sick  and 
Anatomy ,  Residing  there ,  provi-  \\§\ded  he  Read  a  Lecture 
once  a  month ,  on  that  Subject. 

Twenty  Pounds  per  Annum,  towards  the  further  support 
of  a  Publick  Grammar  School  in  each  County ,  now  in  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts-Bay  in  New-England,  pro¬ 
vided  such  a  Grammar  School ,  be  Erected  and  Maintained 
by  every  such  County ,  with  an  Addition  of  Forty  Pounds  per 
Annum,  to  every  such  School- Master.  Provided  Neverthe¬ 
less,  and  it ’s  to  be  understood,  that  the  Neet  Profits  of  this 
Bank  or  Partnership  amount  to  so  much  as  the  Donations 
herein  Express'd,  and  that  the  Donations  first  mentioned ,  be 
first  paid,  in  case  the  Neet  Profits  fall  short. 

20.  That  the  Office  for  managing  the  Affair  of  this 
Partnership  be  always  kept  in  Boston  aforesaid,  and  that 
every  Subscriber  on  taking  out  by  virtue  of  his  Mortgage 
the  Sum  belonging  to  him,  shall  pay  in  to  the  Treasurer  for 
the  time  being;  one  quarter  of  a  years  Interest  for  defray¬ 
ing  the  necessary  Charges  that  may  arise,  in  managing  the 
Affair  of  this  Partnership ;  and  every  Subscriber  shall  within 


Reprint  3  3 1 

three  months  after  his  Subscription  take  out  his  one  fourth 
part  as  abovesaid. 

21.  That  at  any  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Subscribers, 
they  may  by  the  major  Votes  then  [20]  present,  make  any 
Alterations  or  Additions  to  this  Settlement  for  the  better 
managing  the  Affairs  thereof,  not  inconsistent  with  the 
foundation. 

22.  That  in  Case  any  of  the  Possessors  of  the  Bills  happen 
to  be  damnified  through  default  by,  or  Nonobservance  of 
the  foregoing  Covenants  and  Agreements,  or  by  any  other 
defect  of  this  Partnership,  or  of  any  of  the  Members  or 
Officers  thereof ;  the  Person  or  Persons  so  damnify ’d,  shall 
have  remedy  by  Action  and  Suit  at  Law  against  the 
Directors  of  this  Bank  for  the  time  being,  who  do  hereby 
subject  themselves  to  such  Suit  and  Actions. 

And  we  further  Covenant  and  Agree ,  that  there  shall  be  a 
Duplicate  of  these  Articles  duly  Executed ’  and  lodged  in  the 
hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Town  of  Boston  for  the  time 
being ;  that  so  persons  injur'd  may  be  in  a  Capacity  to  bring 
their  Suit . 

23.  That  the  Directors,  Trustees,  and  all  other  Officers 
shall  be  indemnify ’d  by  this  Bank  from  all  Charges  and 
Damages  which  they  may  sustain  by  reason  of  their  Trust 
and  Office  in  the  due  Execution  thereof,  and  none  of  them 
shall  be  chargeable  for  the  neglects  or  defaults  of  any  but 
his  own. 

24.  That  if  any  Officer  or  Officers,  Mem-[21]ber  or  Mem¬ 
bers  of  this  Bank  or  Partnership,  by  reason  of  his  Office  or 
Partnership,  be  Sued  in  any  Action  of  Debt  or  Damage, 
such  Person  or  Persons  shall  immediately  give  notice 
thereof,  to  the  Directors  for  the  time  being,  that  they  may 


332  Colonial  Currency 

prepare  to  defend  the  same ;  and  that  upon  neglect  of  giving 
such  seasonable  notice,  the  Partnership  shall  not  be  oblig’d 
to  indemnify  such  person  or  persons  against  whom  such  Suit 
is  brought,  nor  from  the  Cost  and  Damage  that  may  ensue 
thereon. 

25.  Whereas  the  Affairs  of  this  Partnership  cannot  be 
effectually  carried  on  without  the  Election  and  Constitution 
of  the  several  Officers  before  nam’d;  We  have  therefore 
appointed  Monday  the  First  day  of  November  next,  the  day 
for  such  Election  of  seven  Directors,  a  Treasurer,  one  Head 
Clerk,  and  one  Under-Clerk,  and  more  if  need  be,  who  shall 
have  the  power  to  Exercise  their  Respective  Offices  and 
Trusts,  and  continue  the  same  till  the  First  Tuesday  in 
June,  Seventeen  Hundred  &  Fifteen,  and  until  others  be 
Chosen  in  their  room  and  stead  in  such  manner  as  in  these 
Presents  is  Express’d ;  Provided  there  be  subscribed  the 
Sum  of  Fifty  Thousand  Pounds  on  or  before  the  said  Day. 
And  that  no  Bills  shall  be  Emitted  from  this  Bank  or 
Partnership,  until  further  Subscriptions  make  up  the  Sum 
of  One  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds . 

[22]  26.  To  the  true  and  faithful  performance  of  all  and 
singular  the  Clauses,  Articles,  Covenants  and  Agreements, 
Forfeitures  and  Penalties  herein  before  Expressed :  We  the 
Subscribers,  Parties  to  these  Presents,  Do  mutually  Bind 
and  Oblige  our  selves,  and  each  and  every  of  us,  each  and 
every  of  our  Heirs,  Executors,  Administrators  and  Assigns, 
severally  and  respectively,  each  one  unto  the  other,  and  to 
the  Possessor  or  Possessors  of  the  Bills  of  Credit,  that  shall 
from  time  to  time,  or  any  time  hereafter  be  Emitted  by  this 
Bank  or  Partnership  in  the  full  Value  of  the  Sums  by  us, 
and  each  of  us  Subscribed  hereto. 


Note 


333 


Dated  the  Thirtieth  of  October ,  Anno  Domini ,  Seventeen 
Hundred  and  fourteen ,  Annoque  Regni  Georgii  Magnce 
Britanice ,  Francicz  et  Hibernicz ,  Regis  Primo. 


NOTE  TO  “A  PROJECTION,”  etc. 

The  “  Projection  ”  is  to  be  found  in  several  of  our  libraries.1  It  is  a 
volume  of  twenty-two  pages,  and  the  copy  and  facsimile  of  the  title- 
page  were  procured  for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc., 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

The  preamble  is  especially  interesting.  The  projectors  allege 
that  the  silver  coin  on  which  they  had  depended  for  a  circulating 
medium  had  been  exported,  while  the  constant  drawing  in  of  the 
bills  of  public  credit  by  the  government,  through  funds,  dues,  and 
taxes,  caused  a  want  of  a  medium  of  exchange.  Doubtless  the  imme¬ 
diate  cause  for  the  activity  of  these  gentlemen  at  this  time  was  the 
impending  withdrawal  from  circulation  of  the  fifty  thousand  pounds 
loaned  to  Boston  merchants  at  the  time  of  the  Hill  and  Walker 
Quebec  expedition.  In  the  natural  course  of  events  this  must  soon 
have  taken  place.  The  emission  of  this  sum  had  displaced  a  corre¬ 
sponding  amount  of  silver.  The  payment  of  the  loans  would  not 
restore  it.  What  was  the  remedy?  The  answer  then  given  was 
either  a  public  bank  or  a  private  bank. 

The  reason  for  relegating  the  “  Projection”  to  a  position  posterior  to 
Dudley’s  pamphlet  and  to  the  letter  from  F  .  .  .  1  B  .  .  .  t  have 
already  been  given. 

There  are  two  copies  of  the  “  Projection,”  etc.,  bound  in  the  same 
volume  of  tracts  in  the  Boston  Public  Libary.  The  contents  of  this 
volume  are  not  limited  to  the  subject  of  the  currency,  but  there  are 
to  be  found  in  it  no  less  than  eight  of  the  titles  mentioned  in  the 
introduction  to  these  reprints.  In  the  process  of  binding  some  of 
them  have  been  badly  cut  down  and  the  leaves  of  the  trimmed  pam- 

1  Boston  Public  Library,  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston  Athenaeum, 
Harvard  University,  American  Antiquarian  Society,  New  York  Public  Library, 
and  Library  of  Congress. 


334  Colonial  Currency 

phlets  measure  about  5f  by  3^  inches.  It  would  seem  as  though 
when  untrimmed  they  might  have  been  classified  as  i6mos.  In  one 
of  the  “  Projections”  in  this  volume,  on  page  18,  the  phrase  “the 
whole  Two  Hundred  Pounds  to  be  at  the  dispose  of  the  Cor¬ 
poration,”  beginning  at  the  fourth  line  from  the  bottom,  is  stricken 
out  and  the  same  words  are  written  in  after  the  word  “  Subject,” 
in  the  second  line  on  page  19.  The  propriety  of  this  change  is 
obvious. 


4 

k 


SOME  . 

»  f 

CONSIDERATIONS] 

*  ,  >  y  ' ...  '<* 

Upon  the  fevera]  forts  of 


1 


i 


BANKS 

» 

^  ¥  *  If  ;>  7  // 

Propos'd .  as  a  '*•*/ 

Medium  of  1  rade  ; 

%  -«» 

•  A  N  D 

Some  Improvements  that  might  be  made 
in  this  Province,  hinted  at. 


h 

if 


At\  Vrfv  jr$v  Jfcjh  ef\ 


%$*  vf*  V|* 


Printed  by  T.  FArf  and  T.  Cmmp,  at  the  Defire  of  fome 
<of  the  Inhabitants  of  BOSTON.  hUk  ^ 


SOME 

CONSIDERATIONS 

Upon  the  feveral  forts  of 

BANKS 

Propos’d  as  a 

Medium  of  Trade: 

AND 

Some  Improvements  that  might  be  made 
in  this  Province,  hinted  at. 


Printed  by  T.  Fleet  and  T.  Crump ,  at  the  Defire  of  fome 
of  the  Inhabitants  of  B  O  S  T  O  N.  1716. 


336  Colonial  Currency 


[3] 


IN  a  Country  of  much  Trade  and  Business,  and  where 
the  Silver  (which  is  the  best  Medium)  is  drawn  off,  the 
Trade  will  thereby  be  greatly  disadvantaged.  To  supply 
the  Deficiency  thereof  in  this  Country,  the  Publick  Bills  of 
Credit  have  been  for  some  Years  a  useful  Expedient;  but 
they  being  become  scarce,  and  daily  decreasing,  various  have 
been  the  Projections  of  setting  up  a  Bank  to  the  value  of 
200000  L  more  or  less,  as  the  only  Medium  of  Trade. 

Before  the  Consideration  of  the  several  Projections,  it  may 
be  of  use  to  consider,  that  before  the  War,  26  or  27  Years 
since,  there  was  a  competent  Cash  to  answer  the  Trade  of 
the  Country;  and  to  enquire  what  it  was  that  drew  it  in, 
and  how  it  comes  to  pass  tis  now  drawn  out;  that  so  the 
first  may  be  encouraged,  and  the  other  avoided. 

And  tho’  the  Wrecks  and  the  Privateers  did  bring  in 
considerable  Quantities,  yet  many  are  of  the  Opinion  those 
were  but  a  small  Proportion  to  the  running  Cash  of  the 
Country ;  but  that  the  Fishery  was  then  the  N.  E.  Silver 
Mine ,  and  if  Peace  continue,  may  prove  the  principal  Means 
to  draw  in  Silver  again ;  and  sovmuch  the  more,  if  it  has  all 
needful  Encouragement  given  by  the  General  Court .  For 
tho’  tis  true  the  needless  Expence  in  many  respects,  as  in 
Silks,  fine  Cloth,  both  Linen,  and  Woollen,  as  also  the  drink¬ 
ing  so  much  Wine  &  Rum,  &c.  has  been  a  great  means  of 
carrying  off  the  [4]  Silver,  yet  this  i£  a  Toppick  easier  to 
Speak  to,  than  to  redress;  &  is  a  Matter  worthy  of  the 
Legislators  care.  And  if  the  General  Court  should  lend 
upon  good  Security,  and  without  Interest,  (only  paying  for 


Reprint  337 

the  making)  great  Sums  of  Bills  for  inabling  Particular  Men 
to  carry  on  any  useful  and  beneficial  Works,  and  should  give 
to  others  sufficient  to  Encourage  them  to  set  up  useful  and 
profitable  Inventions  or  Trades,  it  would  be  not  only  some 
addition  to  the  Running  Cash,  but  also  would  prevent  much 
of  our  Importation.  And  Encouragement  to  our  Fishery 
would  much  increase  our  Exportation,  whereby  in  time,  the 
Difficulties  we  now  labour  under,  would  be  abated.  For  till 
our  Exportation  exceeds  our  Importation,  if  Silver  should 
happen  to  be  brought  into  this  Country,  it  could  not  abide 
here,  but  of  necessity  must  be  again  Exported  to  pay  the 
Debt  contracted.  But  as  a  needful  Expedient,  and  while 
other  Methods  can  be  taken,  (the  Country  Bills  failing,  and 
shortning  every  Day  more  and  more)  several  have  been  the 
Projections  of  Banks  to  supply  the  Defect. 

The  first  proposed,  is  a  Private  Bank ;  wherein  a  number 
of  Men  of  good  Real  Estates,  entering  their  Names,  and 
Subscribing  for  any  Sum  proportionable  to  the  Security 
they  can  give  in  Lands,  &c.  take  out  perhaps  half  the  sum 
Subscribed  for,  paying  Interest  for  what  they  take  out;  the 
rest  of  the  Bills  to  be  let  out  to  such  as  will  hire  the  same 
upon  good  Security;  a  part  of  the  whole  Interest  to  be  to 
Publick  Uses,  the  rest  to  the  Bankers ;  He  [5]  that  Subscribes 
most  to  have  most  Voices,  so  that  one  Man  may  have 
5  Votes  in  all  Matters,  with  many  other  Articles. 

This  Bank  seems  projected  more  for  the  Advantage  of 
the  Bankers ,  than  for  the  Publick  Good :  For  (not  to  men¬ 
tion  many  other  Objections)  till  we  can  be  assured  that  not 
only  the  present  Bankers ,  but  also  their  Posterity,  will 
always  seek  the  Publick  above  their  own  Private  Advan¬ 
tage ;  That  Assurance  can  there  be,  that  those  Gentlemen 

VOL.  I  —  22 


3  3  8  Colonial  Currency 

of  5  Votes  a-piece,  will  not  by  joyning  together,  easily  sway 
the  Votes  to  their  own  Advantage;  as  by  drawing  out  of 
great  Sums  to  Monopolise  not  only  Goods,  but  Provisions; 
with  many  other  ways  ruinous  to  the  Publick  ? 

*  The  second  Projection  is ;  that  the  Country  Emit  Bills 
and  let  them  out  upon  Interest ,  and  upon  good  Security, 
which  will  bring  in  a  large  Revenue  towards  the  support  of 
the  Charges  of  the  Government. 

This  has  likewise  met  with  Objections  ;  and  till  the.  Throne 
can  be  secured  from  a  Prince  of  Arbitrary  Principles  in  all 
times  to  come,  such  a  Bank  will  be  dangerous:  For  how 
easy  will  it  be  for  such  a  Prince  to  divert  such  a  large 
Revenue  to  his  Use  and  Pleasure?  If  any  think  otherwise, 
they  may  consider  the  last  5  Reigns,  and  see  if  they  can 
assure  us,  that  any  more  than  one  of  them  would  not  have 
taken  hold  of  such  an  Opportunity :  For  tho’  (thanks  be  to 
Heaven)  we  have  a  King  upon  the  Throne  that  Studies 
nothing  more  than  the  welfare  of  his  Peo-[6]ple,  yet  all  Men 
are  Mortal,  and  as  Changes  have  been  in  our  Kindom  of 
England ,  so  no  doubt  may  be  again ;  and  if  a  Prince  of  such 
Principles  should  ever  Ascend  the  Throne,  all  the  Laws  to 
secure  so  large  a  Revenue,  would  prove  but  as  Spiders  Webs . 

These  two  Banks  which  are  level’d  to  raise  a  large  Income 
yearly,  which  must  also  have  many  Officers,  and  a  large 
Pension  for  their  Service,  are  reciprocally  opposed  by  both; 
neither  of  the  two  Parties,  but  can  see  danger  in  the  others 
obtaining  their  ends. 

A  third  Proposal  has  been,  That  the  Country  should 
make  a  competent  Sum  of  Publick  Bills ,  and  lend  them  to 
the  several  Towns  in  proportion  to  their  Rates,  at  5  per  Cent 
for  20  Years,  in  which  time  the  whole  being  paid  in,  the 


339 


Reprint 

Principal  to  be  to  such  Town ,  who  may  either  let  it  out 
upon  Interest ,  or  purchase  Lands  with  it  for  the  use  of  the 
Town. 

This  third  Proposal  being  without  the  Charge  of  great 
Officers  and  Salaries,  and  without  the  risque  of  bad  Bills ,  or 
Cheats,  yet  answering  the  end  proposed  of  supplying  a 
Medium  of  Trade,  and  having  none  of  the  former  Objections 
lying  against  it,  may  reasonably  be  accounted  the  most 
eligible,  &  every  way  preferable,  rather  than  any  of  the  two 
former,  or  than  that  of  framing  a  new  Specie  of  Bills 
founded  upon  the  Mortgaged  Lands ;  and  all  the  Country’s 
undivided  Lands,  which  so  long  as  any  of  those  Bills  were 
out,  would  bar  the  Country  from  settling  one  Town  more; 
and  (without  the  Country’s  Sanction)  would  involve  the 
People  in  new  Perplexities  how  to  pay  their  Specialties  for 

Province  Bills . 

% 

[7]  And  it  being  supposed,  that  many  that  are  rather  for 
no  Bank,  yet  joyn  in  some  with  one  side,  some  with  the 
other,  in  order  to  obstruct  emiting  of  any;  as  best  suiting 
their  particular  Interest:  In  which  case  a  Fourth  has  been 
proposed,  {viz.)  A  Private  Bank,  of  a  competent  Number  of 
Men  in  Business  agreeing  together,  make  Bills  &  give 
Security  each  to  other  to  answer  them;  to  let  their  Books 
lie  open  for  any  Man  in  the  Province  to  Subscribe  his  Sum ; 
and  giving  in  Security  sufficient,  to  take  out  what  Bills  he 
Subscribes  for,  without  paying  any  Interest,  only  at  taking 
out,  to  pay  for  the  making,  &c .  and  to  be  obliged  in  some 
Penalty  to  meet  once  a  Year,  and  pay  off  the  necessary 
Charge,  &c.  till  a  competent  Cash  be  taken  out,  and  then 
the  Books  to  be  shut  up,  and  no  more  Bills  Emitted,  save 
only  to  change  the  defective,  &c .  Such  a  Bank  might  be 


3  40  Colonial  Currency 

very  Useful  as  a  Medium  of  Trade,  and  would  soon  obtain 
in  this  Province,  to  be  as  good  as  the  Bills  of  the  other 
Colonies 

’T  is  certain,  Banks  of  what  kind  soever,  cannot  be  (in  our 
declining  Circumstances)  a  compleat  Remedy,  but  only  may 
render  us  more  Comfortable  in  our  consuming  Condition; 
as  a  Cordial  to  a  Man  in  a  deadly  Disease,  may  be  some 
Support  till  other  Means  can  be  used;  for  which  Reason 
’tis  preferable  to  all  Banks ,  that  the  Government  Emit  large 
Sums  for  promoting  what  may  be  Beneficial  and  of  a  general 
Good ;  (ut  sup)  which  will  not  only  be  a  Supply  of  present 
Cash,  but  will  also  lay  certain  and  stable  Foundations  of 
increasing  the  Produce  of  [8]  the  Country;  which  is  the 
Interest  and  Wisdom  of  all  Nations. 

Such  as  lending  large  Sums  upon  good  Security,  without 
Interest  for  some  Term  of  Years,  (only  paying  for  the  mak¬ 
ing)  for  building  a  Bridge  over  Charles  River,  cutting  a 
Channel  at  Sandwich  for  safe  and  more  speedy  Passage  of 
Vessels,  if  those  Works  upon  Mature  Consideration  shall  be 
found  Practicable.  And  here  being  both  Iron  Oar ,  and  a 
plenty  of  Wood  to  work  it,  and  this  Country  having  great 
occasion  for  all  sorts  of  Iron  Work ;  it  may  be  advisable  to 
advance  considerably  in  Bills,  either  by  the  way  of  Loan  or 
Gift ,  to  such  as  will  undertake  to  set  up  a  Finery ,  and 
cause  it  to  Work  to  Effect;  which  would  work  the  Iron 
better,  and  in  greater  Quantities ;  and  with  the  help  of 
which,  Pots  &  Kettles  might  be  made  here  for  the  use  of 
the  Country.  To  encourage  which,  the  Duty  laid  in 
England  upon  Hollow  Ware,  would  have  no  small  Influ¬ 
ence.  True  it  is,  here  was  a  Finery  in  the  beginning  of 
Times  at  Lynn ,  which  did  not  prosper,  here  not  being  then 


34i 


Reprint 

a  competent  Number  of  People  to  manage  them,  nor  yet  to 
take  off  the  Wares  when  made,  tho’  at  half  the  Price  now  sold 
at.  It  ought  not  to  be  any  Discouragement  in  the  Under¬ 
taking,  now  both  the  quantity  of  Hands  to  work  at  it,  as  also 
to  expend  the  Goods  when  made,  are  double :  the  Price  they 
then  were  at,  being  also  doubled. 

And  here  being  great  occasion  for  Nails ,  &  other  small 
Works,  which  at  present  cannot  be  made  at  the  price  for 
want  of  a  Slitting  Mill  to  slit  the  Iron  [9]  into  suitable  Rods  ; 
(for  it  is  found  that ’t  is  as  much  Labour  to  fit  the  Rods,  as 
to  make  the  Nails  when  the  Rod  is  prepared)  If  the 
Country  should  give  or  lend  a  competent  Sum  to  any  that 
shall  procure  Workmen  to  bring  such  a  Mill  to  work  to 
Effect  here,  it  would  inable  the  Smiths  to  make  a  sufficient 
Supply  of  Nails  for  this  Country.  And  if  the  Soldiers  at 
the  Castle  had  Nailers  to  instruct  them,  many  of  them 
might  be  imployed  in  it,  which  would  be  a  benefit  to  such 
Soldiers  in  their  Health.  This  one  Article  of  Iron- Works, 
which  might  be  set  upon  for  a  few  Hundreds,  would  soon 
save  the  Country  some  Thousands  in  a  Year. 

Glass-works  might  also  be  improved  here,  the  Materials 
being  all  at  hand,  which  in  its  several  parts,  as  Window- 
Glass,  Beer-Glasses  and  Bottles,  would  amount  to  a  very 
great  Sum ;  and  a  small  Encouragement  from  the  Country, 
would  be  sufficient  to  set  it  up  here.  The  like  may  be  said 
of  Paper  making,  working  upon  Horn  for  Combs,  Ink-Horns, 
&c.  which  with  Encouragement,  would  save  the  Country 
very  Considerable. 

The  improving  the  sowing  of  Hemp  and  Flax,  is  also  a 
Matter  worthy  of  great  Regard ;  &  is  much  obstructed  by 
the  inability  of  many  to  break  up  Land  suitable.  In  which 


342 


Colonial  Currency 

case,  it  would  be  a  good  Encouragement  to  lend  them 
without  Interest ,  such  a  Sum  as  may  inable  them  yearly  to 
break  up  and  Fence  in  io  of*  20  Acres  for  that  Use.  This 
would  be  of  very  great  Service  to  the  Country. 

And  tho’  the  Crown  will  always  have  a  jealous  [10]  Eye 
upon  any  Increase  of  the  Woolen  Manufactury  here;  yet 
it  will  rather  Encourage  the  working  upon  Linen  or  upon 
Cotton  (as  in  Ireland')  which  with  suitable  Encouragement, 
is  capable  of  a  vast  Improvement  here,  by  making  Sheeting , 
Shirting ,  &  Callicoes. 

This  Country  being  often  liable  upon  a  failure  of  Crops, 
to  be  bro’t  to  Extremity  for  want  of  Grain;  and  when  a 
time  of  Plenty  comes,  there  are  but  few  Buyers,  whereby 
’t is  often  run  down  below  a  reasonable  Price:  To  pre¬ 
vent  both  which  Extreams,  the  erecting  of  Store-houses  or 
Graineries,  would  be  of  singular  Use:  And  if  the  Country 
advance  some  thousands  for  building  of  Graineries,  for  safe 
laying  up  of  Grain,  many  in  a  time  of  Plenty,  would  lay  up 
their  Grain  in  them ;  and  taking  a  Receit  for  it  may  with  it 
pay  their  Debts.  (As  is  practised  in  Germany)  It  is  easy 
to  conceive,  that  this  would  be  a  very  great  Benefit  to  Trade, 
and  that  which  Holland,  tho’  they  have  comparatively  but 
little  Grain  growing,  yet  hereby  are  inabled  in  times  of 
Scarsity,  to  supply  not  only  themselves,  but  also  the 
Neighbouring  Nations. 

Tho’  this  Country  be  large,  and  much  good  Land  in  it, 
which  for  want  of  People,  cannot  be  improved  in  many 
Generations ;  yet  a  shame  it  is  to  say,  This  Colony  cannot 
provide  themselves  necessary  Food. 

The  Town  of  Boston  is  much  increased  of  late  Years  by 
Strangers  coming  in;  but  the  Country  has  not  increased 


Reprint  3  43 

answerably:  But  in  stead  of  that,  many  are  gone,  and  others 
following  them,  so  that  ’tis  supposed,  that  in  the  last  12  Years, 
enough  have  [11]  gone  out  of  this  Colony,  to  Plant  12  good 
Towns  in  Connecticut  only;  besides  what  have  gone  to  other 
Places.  The  reason  of  the  not  improving  the  Country  more, 
and  also  many  going  out,  when  here  is  want  of  double  the 
Number  we  have,  is  a  Matter  worthy  to  be  well  considered. 

In  the  first  Setling  this  Country,  Land  was  easy  to  be 
attained,  and  at  a  low  price,  which  was  an  Inducement  to 
multitudes  to  come  over  Servants:  But  now  the  Land 
being  so  generally  taken  up,  few  come  over  that  can  live 
elsew'here ;  so  that  Servants  now  brought,  generally  prove 
Run-aways,  Thieves,  or  some  way  Disorderly:  To  avoid 
having  of  such,  multitudes  have  rather  chosen  to  get  Slaves, 
tho’  at  excessive  Price;  which  Practice,  tho  so  directly 
against  the  Peopling  the  Country,  is  encouraged  in  stead  of 
being  remedied,  even  by  the  Laws  of  the  Country.  For 
he  that  is  able  to  purchase  a  Slave,  comes  off  in  the  Rates 
cheaper  than  his  poorer  Neighbour  that  has  an  Apprentice; 
tho’  indeed  in  that  hard  and  unequal  Tax  of  Polemoney ,  the 
Masters  are  made  equal.  But  he  that  has  an  Apprentice, 
must  pay  more  for  him,  than  his  richer  Neighbour  is  set  at 
for  his  Slave;  &  the  poor  Man’s  Apprentice  must  Watch  & 
Train,  and  not  only  so,  but  in  a  time  of  War,  must  be  Prest 
from  him:  All  which  his  richer  Neighbour  is  cleared  from, 
besides  his  paying  less  in  the  Rates ;  to  the  encouraging  of 
Slavery,  and  discouraging  of  the  Poor,  and  consequently  to 
the  putting  a  full  stop  to  the  Growth  of  the  Country  :  Slaves 
being  a  weakning  rather  than  Addition  to  the  Strength  of 
a  [12]  Country.  Boston  alone  is  supposed  to  have  3  or  400 
Slaves ;  which  were  there  so  many  Servants  in  their  stead, 


344  Colonial  Currency 

enough  would  come  out  of  their  time  yearly,  to  people  a 
good  Town. 

These  are  some  of  the  Hindrances  of  the  Increase  of  the 
Country,  for  Remedy  whereof,  it  is  humbly  Proposed,  That 
the  Country  make  such  Provision,  that  Servants  when  out 
of  their  time,  shall  be  entituled  to  50  or  60  Acres  of  Land, 
&  a  Township  appointed  for  them ;  and  if  others  shall  joyn 
with  them  in  settling  such  Town,  they  to  pay  to  the  Country 
a  moderate  Price  for  Land,  &c.  such  Township  not  to  exceed 
4  or  5  Miles  Square ;  for  the  extravagant  Bounds  of  Town¬ 
ships,  is  that  which  has  occasioned  great  Quarrels  among 
themselves,  and  also  given  a  great  deal  of  Trouble  to  the 
General  Court  about  placing  new  Meeting- Houses^  and  the 
Bounds  of  Precincts.  And  such  Township  (if  it  may  be)  to 
have  a  Brook  or  River  in  it,  proper  for  a  Grist-Mill  and  a 
Saw- Mill,  the  Meeting-House  to  be  set  in  the  middle  of  the 
Township,  and  the  Houses  as  near  as  may  be  to  it.  And  as 
soon  as  such  Township  is  filled  up  with  Inhabitants,  then 
to  appoint  another.  And  this  would  be  the  greatest  Induce¬ 
ment  to  the  coming  over  of  Servants,  and  the  greatest  Means 
of  Increasing  and  Strengthening  the  Country. 

To  effect  which,  if  those  Gentlemen  that  have  Ingrost  vast 
Tracts  of  Land,  without  any  design  ever  to  settle  them  by 
themselves,  Servants  or  Slaves,  should  Voluntarily  throw  up 
into  the  country’s  Hands,  one  half  of  what  they  have  so 
Ingrost,  in  [13]  order  to  furnish  Conveniences  for  such 
Settlements,  they  might  be  gainers  by  it  in  the  other 
half. 

Or  if  the  Country  should  put  a  Rate  upon  such  Tracts  of 
Land  as  lie  convenient  to  settle  Townships  upon,  in  order 
to  make  them  willing  to  throw  them  up  to  the  Country; 


345 


Reprint 

such  yearly  Rate  would  be  more  Justifiable,  and  more 
Equal,  than  to  Rate  a  poor  Man  10  s.  that  has  much  ado  to 
live ;  those  Estates  being  valued  worth  hundreds  of  Pounds 
by  the  Owners  thereof,  who  keep  them  only  in  hopes  that  as 
other  Places  hereafter  shall  be  settled,  they  may  Advance 
upon  the  Price,  yet  Pay  no  Rates  for  them:  And  in  the 
mean  time  their  poor  Neighbours  must  pay  perhaps  a 
greater  Rate  than  would  be  put  upon  him  in  the  most  Arbi¬ 
trary  Kingdom  in  Europe . 

Either  of  these  two  ways,  with  what  Lands  remain  yet  in 
the  Country’s  Dispose,  would  soon  furnish  Land  sufficient 
to  supply  Servants  as  they  shall  become  Free,  and  supply 
others  that  they  need  not  withdraw,  &c.  But  if  neither  of 
these  two  Methods  should  be  approved  of,  If  the  Country 
should  Enact,  That  as  often  as  there  should  be  occasion ,  a 
convenient  Township  be  lookt  out  and  Survey'd ,  and  made 
sure  to  them ,  and  such  others  as  shall  joyn  with  them ,  they 
after  some  Years  to  pay  a  quit  Rent ,  in  some  Proportion  to 
the  former  Value  of  the  Land ,  to  the  Owners  thereof  when 
they  shall  have  made  out  their  Claims ;  This  would  be  so  far 
from  being  a  Damage,  that  it  would  be  a  Benefit  to  such 
Owners  of  Lands,  by  having  an  Income  of  that  which  if  the 
former  Methods  continue,  can  hardly  ever  be  settled. 

[14]  Some  that  are  good  Farmers,  who' observing  that  the 
Lands  are  so  generally  Ingrost,  fear  they  shall  not  procure 
sufficient  to  settle  their  Children  upon,  have  straitned  them¬ 
selves,  and  perhaps  run  in  debt  to  buy  Land,  to  the  disabling 
them  to  improve  the  Lands  they  before  had.  For  inabling 
such  to  improve  their  Lands,  if  the  Country  should  lend 
ioo  /.  without  Interest,  upon  Condition  that  in  ten  Years 
time  they  break  up  and  Keep  subdued  50  Acres  of  Land ; 


346  Colonial  Currency 

this  would  be  a  great  Encouragement  to  them,  and  would 
much  Increase  the  Produce  of  the  Country. 

And  as  to  Slaves,  as  was  before  demonstrated,  they  are 
a  great  hinderance  to  the  Peopling  and  Improving  the 
Country:  And  the  Proverb  tells  us,  That  the  Receiver  is  as 
bad  as  the  Thief ;  and  that  if  there  were  no  Receivers ,  there 
would  be  no  Thieves :  If  those  are  true  Proverbs ,  then  are  not 
we  of  this  Country  guilty  of  that  Violence,  Treachery  and 
Bloodshed,  that  is  daily  made  use  of  to  obtain  them ;  we 
rendring  our  selves  Partakers  with  them  in  that  Wickedness? 
(For  ’tis  not  to  be  supposed,  that  these  do  voluntarily 
abandon  themselves  to  be  carried  into  a  Foreign  Country, 
and  there  to  be  sold  for  Slaves)  If  therefore  the  Country  in 
stead  of  many  Laws  they  have  made  obout  Negroes ,  should 
Enact,  That  twenty  Years  hence  there  should  be  no  Slave 
in  the  Country,  it  would  hurt  no  Man,  but  would  greatly 
Encourage  Servants  to  come,  and  necessitate  their  being 
brought  over,  to  the  great  Increase  and  Strengthning  the 
Country. 

And  now  if  any  shall  object  to  what  is  said,  in  order  to 
better  the  Proposals,  for  advancing  the  general  Good  of  the 
Country ;  or  shall  add  more  with  better  Reasons  to  Enforce 
what  may  be  said,  they  would  therein  do  good  Service  to 
their  Country. 

But  if  they  Object  with  design  to  hinder  the  Improve¬ 
ments  hinted  at  from  private  and  secret  Views  of  their  own, 
however  they  may  esteem  of  themselves,  are  far  from  being 
true  Friends  to  the  Country.  All  wise  civilized  Nations 
make  it  a  principal  Part  of  their  Care  to  Encourage  the 
Produce  of  their  several  Countries,  that  so  they  may  stand 
in  need  of  the  less  from  abroad,  [15]  And  it  being  agreed 


347 


Reprint 

upon  on  all  hands,  that  a  Medium  is  wanting,  and  the 
General  Court  having  pitch’d  upon  the  Sum  of  iooooo  l.  to 
be  Made  and  Emitted ;  The  Question  is,  Whether  it  be  best 
for  the  General  Good,  to  invest  all  or  Part  of  said  Sum  in 
the  several  Towns  in  Proportion;  and  with  the  remainder, 
or  with  other  Money  lent,  (for  iooooo  L  will  be  found  too 
small  a  Sum)  free  of  Interest,  to  Particular  Men,  to  be  for 
the  Advance  of  Husbandry,  and  bringing  in  of  Arts  and 
Trades  that  may  be  of  vast  Benefit  to  the  Country  ( ut  sup.)? 

Or  whether  it  be  best  to  let  it  out  to  Interest  to  our 
Necessitous  Neighbours,  and  thereby  raise  a  large  Revenue  ? 

For  Answer  Can  it  be  thought,  that  a  little  Use-Money 
should  be  a  greater  Benefit  to  the  Country,  than  any  or  all 
the  various  Methods  hinted  at,  or  that  might  be  thought  of  ? 
One  Branch  of  which,  (viz.)  that  of  breaking  up  of  Land, 
and  Improvements  thereon,  or  that  other  Branch  of  Iron¬ 
work,  would  Yearly  save  the  Country  much  more  than  all 
the  Use-Money  could  amount  to,  (were  it  to  come  clear  of 
all  charges.) 

Or  can  it  be  conceived,  that  a  Committee,  tho’  well 
chosen,  can  Inspect  the  Title  and  Value  of  Lands  in  all  the 
remote  Parts  of  the  Province,  better  than  the  several  Towns 
can  act  for  themselves  ?  Or  will  the  Sallaries  of  such 
Committees  be  so  small,  as  to  be  less  than  if  the  several  Towns 
have  the  Management  for  their  own  Advantage  ?  Or  can  it 
consist  with  the  Wisdom  of  a  Religious  People,  even  to 
force  those  to  be  Usurers ,  whose  Judgment  and  Conscience 
is  utterly  against  it ;  and  for  failure  of  paying  Debt  and 
Interest,  to  swallow  up  the  Estates  of  their  poor  Neighbours  ? 


348  Colonial  Currency 

Is  not  this  what  is  abhorred  by  Jews ,  Turks  and  Papists ; 
(vizi)  To  eat  up  their  poor  Neighbours  by  Usury  ? 

Have  the  Laws  of  any  Christian  Nation  ever  approved  of 
it,  or  any  more  than  barely  tollerated  it?  And  have  not 
ma-[16]ny  of  the  Celebrated  Divines  in  England  declar’d  it 
utterly  Unlawful?  And  must  this  Country  run  Retrograde 
to  all? 

To  Conclude ;  take  the  Words  of  the  Law-Book,  Title 
( Usury )  which  was  Enacted  when  there  was  in  the  General 
Court,  many  wise  Religious  Men,  and  such  as  were  of  the 
First  Comers;  where  after  they  have  exprest,  that  none 
shall  be  adjudged  more  than  Eight  Pounds  in  the  Hundred 
for  Forbearance  for  a  Year,  adds,  P.  153,  these  Words; 
Neither  shall  this  be  a  Colour  or  Countenance  to  allow  any 
Usury  among  us ,  contrary  to  the  Law  of  God . 


FINIS. 


NOTE  TO  “  SOME  CONSIDERATIONS  UPON  THE  SEVERAL 

SORTS  OF  BANKS,”  etc. 

Reference  was  made  in  the  Introduction  to  the  fact  that  these 
pamphlets  from  time  to  time  revealed  to  us  phases  of  the  social  and 
industrial  life  of  the  province  which  had  not  been  brought  out  in 
full  relief  by  our  historians.  This  pamphlet  and  the  one  immedi¬ 
ately  following,  “  The  present  melancholy  circumstances  of  the 
Province,”  etc.,  may  be  specially  referred  to  as  illustrating  this  propo¬ 
sition.  They  show  not  only  what  was  being  done,  but  what  the  col¬ 
onists  hoped  might  be  done  in  the  future. 


Note 


349 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  author  refers  to  the  Fisheries  as  the 
“  N.  E.  Silver  Mine  ,”  and  that  he  suggests  as  a  means  of  keeping 
the  silver  in  the  province,  the  development  of  a  number  of  public 
schemes,  such  as  a  bridge  over  the  Charles  River;  a  canal  across 
the  foot  of  Cape  Cod ;  and  the  encouragement  of  private  industries 
like  foundries,  nail  mills,  glass  works,  paper  mills,  the  manufacture 
of  horn  implements,  the  establishment  of  cotton  and  linen  mills, 
and  in  agriculture  the  growth  of  hemp  and  flax.  He  argues  against 
the  maintainance  of  slavery,  “  Slaves  being  a  weakening  rather  than 
Addition  to  the  Strength  of  a  Country.”  He  winds  up  with  an 
argument  against  Usury  concluding  with  a  quotation  of  “  the  Words 
of  the  Law-Book,”  for  which  he  gives  a  page  reference.  This  en¬ 
ables  us  easily  to  identify  the  volume  from  which  he  was  quoting 
as  “  The  general  laws  and  liberties  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,”  etc., 
Cambridge,  1672.  The  sentence  which  he  quotes  was  originally 
embodied  in  the  twenty-third  section  of  the  Body  of  Liberties.1 

The  pamphlet  is  a  small  one,  and  has  only  sixteen  pages.  The 
copy  was  originally  obtained  from  the  Boston  Public  Library2  and 
was  made  use  of  in  printing  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency.”  The 
facsimile  of  the  title-page  was  obtained  from  the  same  source  and 
at  the  same  time. 

1  Colonial  laws  of  Massachusetts,  1672-1686,  p.  39. 

2  A  copy  of  this  pamphlet  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  John  Carter  Brown  Library, 
Providence,  R.  I. 


Ul 

ri  ,c  Pxefcnt 


r.  i 


-i 

-i 


§■ 
i  p  CU’CIUTI" 


ibnccs $&£fXp  Y  IN  C  E 


fifyd^ods  for 

'iy--;propyfed,  in  a. 
t  i ic  Country  to 


■  ,  ,  -  •’  C 

;  i  *■  *  .:  * 


'~i~  +■  '• 

>  J 


! 


Got 

llcdrefs 

Letter  f„ _ 

uiic  in  Eoflon . 

INCH  our  lafe  Diicou'rfe  about  the  uncafie 
tbreatning  Circui-nlbnoe.b  oi  tins  Pro * 
f  virffcpts  to  f/lb/c;v  or  a  dlrr  ho  v  of  TV  a4e  ^ 
;Ov>  Ihaye  employed  my  thoughts!  bmewhat 
i  the  matter,  arid  Fll  briefly  ho  i  force  things 
hut  have/Occufd  to  my  mh.d. 

Our  Fathers. that  iirfi  it1  de  l  ? fie  Province 
f  the  Mdjfachufct/s-l'  v\ be  ugh?  feme  So/d  a  id 
Silver  with  them  *  alter  a  while,  feme  M  nc$ 
tas  Coined  here,  as  5 killings*  Six- Pencil  Sue 
hut  in  procefs  of  time,  'even  long  before  Silver 
Money  was  generally  or  earned  out: 

of  the  Province,)  the'grcateU  parr  oi  dacpjjnig 
ttoney  here,  was  Spurujh^  viz.  .fkc.rs  ■/'  Eubr2 
b  / Jj  Pieces ,  Eight  J ’effet  r ,ecc  7  / 7i  a;  I uvnj/  1  i  n  p~ 
pole  was  chiefly  the  Return rr  made  ibr  our  ¥<jhr 
Pu  mber ,  ffrrf if  j  ,  G  ra  i /j<  y/,  y ;  a-/;  ?&  c .  Ex  no  r  ted, 

■  t  carried’out  of  the  (  ountry  J  think  this 
oacoiiftrates,  that  in  trade  times  what  ^ve 
Reported  of  our  ezt’tf  produce  (  or  the  fruits  of 


A 


OCX 


[1] 


The  Present  ;^ClattCf)Ol£  Circumstances  of 
the  PROVINCE  Consider’d,  and 
Methods  for  Redress  humbly  proposed,  in  a 
Letter  from  one  in  the  Country  to  one  in 
Boston . 

Sir, 

SINCE  our  last  Discourse  about  the  uneasie  threat- 
ning  Circumstances  of  this  Province ,  as  to  Money 
or  a  Medium  of  Trade\  I  have  employed  my 
thoughts  somewhat  in  the  matter,  and  I’ll  briefly 
hint  some  things  that  have  occur’d  to  my  mind. 

Our  Fathers  that  first  settled  the  Province  of  the  Massac hu- 
setts-Bay ,  brought  some  Gold  and  Silver  with  them  ;  after  a 
while,  some  Money  was  Coined  here,  as  Shillings ,  Six-Pences , 
&c.  But  in  process  of  time,  (even  long  before  Silver  Money 
was  generally  Exported ,  or  carried  out  of  the  Province,)  the 
greatest  part  of  the  passing  Money  here,  was  Spanish ,  viz. 
Pieces  of  Eighty  Half  Pieces ,  Eight  Pences ,  &c.  This  Money 
I  suppose  was  chiefly  the  Returns  made  for  our  Fish, 
Lumber,  Horses ,  Grain,  Beaf,  Pork ,  &c.  Exported  or  carried 
out  of  the  Country.  I  think  this  demonstrates,  that  in  those 
times  what  we  Exported  of  our  own  produce  (or  the  fruits  of 
[2]  our  own  labour),  was  more  than  what  was  Imported  from 
other  Places,  either  for  Food,  Drinky  or  C loathing',  therefore 
to  make  the  Ballance,  Money  came  in,  and  continued  Circu¬ 
lating  among  us.  In  those  times  the  Wealth  of  this  Country 


352 


Colonial  Currency 

was  on  the  growing  hand.  But  of  late  Years,  I’ll  suppose 
the  Twenty  last  past,  our  Silver  Money  has  been  generally 
Exported ’  so  that  now  there  is  not  a  Penny  of  it  passing 
between  Man  and  Man.  Tho’  I  dont  know  exactly  (nor  I 
believe  any  one  else)  how  much  Money  has  been  Exported 
this  last  Twenty  Years ,  yet  I’ll  now  suppose  it  to  be  Three 
Hundred  Thousand  Pounds ;  and  I’ll  suppose  we  have  now 
about  Two  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  out  in  Province 
Bills ;  what’s  out  in  Province  Bills ,  and  to  be  Collected  by 
Tax ,  the  Province  owes  for,  and  is  so  much  in  Debt\  what’s 
out  upon  Loan ,  is  owing  for  by  particular  Persons  in  the 
Province,  so  that  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Province  owe  for 
the  whole.  Now  if  the  guess  I  have  made  be  exact,  (which 
I  don’t  pretend  to)  or  pretty  near  it,  then  this  Province  in 
what  is  spent  and  what  is  owed  for,  are  about  Five  Hundred 
Thousand  Pounds  sunk  in  their  Estates,  in  about  Twenty 
Years.  If  my  guess  be  right  in  the  Silver  Exported \  and 
the  Province  Bills  now  out,  then  the  Conclusion  I’ve  drawn 
must  needs  be  true. 

But  how  comes  it  that  we  have  sunk  so  [3]  much  in  our 
Estates,  in  so  short  a  time  ?  If  any  think  it  occasioned 
by  the  Wars  we  have  had  in  the  last  Twenty  Years  ;  I’m 
humbly  of  a  different  Sentiment ;  for  we  did  not  hire 
Foreigners  to  manage  our  Wars .  This  Province  did  not 
send  away  Silver  Money ,  to  hire  assistance  against  Indians 
or  French.  My  opinion  therefore  is,  that  our  decay  in 
Wealth  is  chiefly  owing  to  our  Mismanagements,  especially 
our  Extravagance. 

What  is  Imported  into  the  Province,  &  Spent  here,  is,  or 
should  be  Paid  for\  else  we  are  dishonest,  which  does  not 
become  Men,  much  less  Christians,  as  we  are :  And  if  the 


353 


Reprint 

Fruits  and  Produce  of  our  own  Labour  in  this  Province ,  won’t 
make  a  sufficient  Export  to  pay  for  what  we  receive  from 
Abroad ,  and  Spend  here;  then  the  Silver  goes  to  make  the 
Ballance ,  and  pay  the  remainder. 

And  this  is  the  very  Case,  the  short  and  long  of  the 
Business.  Our  Silver  is  gone  to  pay  the  overplus  of 
Imported  Goods ,  above  what  our  own  Product  Exported, 
could  pay.  Among  the  Commodities  Imported ,  some  are 
really  useful  for  us,  which  we  are  not  able  to  raise,  or  make 
our  selves,  some  not  at  all,  some  not  as  yet,  or  not  enough 
of  it,  as  Canvas,  Riggin,  Brass,  Copper,  Pewter,  Tin-  Ware, 
Glass  for  Windows,  Sugar,  Melos ses.  Cotton- Wool '  Paper, 
Needles,  Pins,  Scythes,  Sickles,  Cutlary  Ware,  &c.  I  sup- 
[4]pose  our  own  Produce  (if  we  joyned  Prudence  and  Dili¬ 
gence  together)  which  might  be  Exported,  would  be  enough 
to  pay  for  all  the  Imported  Commodities,  which  are  really 
needful  and  useful  for  us. 

But  then  many  things  have  been  Imported,  which  have 
not  been  necessary,  yet  very  costly ;  such  as  Silver  and  Gold 
Lace,  worn  on  Cloaths  and  Shoes,  Velvet,  Rich  Silk ,  Sattin, 
Silk  Stockings,  Fine  Broad-Cloths,  Camlets,  Perriwiggs, 
Fine  costly  Shoes  and  Pat  toons.  Ribbons,  Rich  Lace,  Silk - 
Hankerchiefs,  Fine  Hatts,  Gloves  of  great  price  and  little 
worth,  China  Ware,  very  Costly- Looking-Glasses,  Cane- 
Chairs,  Costly  Beds  &  Furniture,  & c.  We  in  the  Country, 
think  that  some  scores  of  Thousands  of  Pounds  in  late  Years, 
have  been  spent  by  this  Province  in  these  things,  and  that 
the  Province  would  have  been  much  better  without  them.  I 
don’t  now  contend  against  these  things  as  being  Unlawful  in 
themselves ;  but  for  us  to  send  off  our  Silver  Money  to  buy 
them,  &  now  not  have  a  Penny  to  pass  between  Man  &  Man 

VOL.  I  —  23 


354 


Colonial  Currency 

for  our  necessary  business,  I  think  has  not  been  our  Pru¬ 
dence  but  our  great  Folly. 

Possibly  some  will  say,  the  fault  is  in  the  Middling  or 
Poorer  sort  of  People,  who  buy  these  things,  and  go  above 
their  Ability ,  in  doing  it.  The  reply  is,  Possibly  it  has 
been  great  weakness  in  the  Richer  sort  to  lead  in  these 
things,  and  greater  folly  in  the  Poorer  to  follow  them. 

[5]  However,  its  matter  of  Fact,  that  there’s  much  needless 
Expence  in  sundry  of  these  things,  and  tho’  some  Richer 
Persons  or  Families  can  bear  the  Cost  of  these  Expences, 
yet  Poorer  ones  (who  too  much  affect  them)  can’t;  but 
whether  such  things  are  spent  by  Rich  or  Poor ,  its  all  one  to 
the  Province  in  general.  For  what’s  Imported  and  spent  in 
the  Province  must  be  paid  for  by  Export  from  it ;  and  if  the 
Produce  of  our  Labour  wont  do  it,  our  Silver  and  Gold  must 
go  (or  rather  is  gone)  to  make  it  up. 

And  as  Pm  humbly  of  Opinion,  that  this  Province  had 
much  better  have  been  without,  many  scores  of  Thousands 
of  Pounds  of  fine  costly  things  Imported  &  spent  here ;  so  I 
believe  other  things  tho’  useful  in  their  time  &  measure ,  have 
been  Imported  and  Spent  in  greater  Quantities ,  than  has 
been  for  our  good,  Such  as  Wine ,  Rum ,  Brandy ,  (not  to 
mention  Tea ,  Coffee ,  Chacolet ,  which  People  here  formerly 
did  very  well  without)  that  there  has  been  much  needless  Ex¬ 
pence  in  these  things,  I  suppose  none  will  deny.  So  far  and 
so  frequently  as  any  have  drunk  to  excess ,  the  Sin  of  Drunk¬ 
enness  has  been  chargeable  on  them,  which  they  should 
seriously  and  penitently  consider  of;  but  I’m  now  consid¬ 
ering  the  matter,  as  to  the  Cost  of  such  Imported  Liquors . 
If  several  Thousand  Pounds  Yearly ,  are  needle  sly  spent  in 
these  things,  so  many  Thousands  a  Year  we  are  hurt  even 


355 


Reprint 

on  this  account,  that  our  Export  [6]  does  not  (without  send¬ 
ing  off  Silver)  equal  our  Import .  If  out  of  our  own  Produce , 
a  Cargo  of  Staves ,  Hoops ,  Horses  &c,  has  for  its  return ,  a 
Cargo  of  Wine  or  Rum ,  and  dw  Third  of  it  is  needlesly  ex¬ 
pended  and  wasted  here ;  if  instead  of  this  Third  needlessly 
spent,  the  return  had  been  made  in  Silver ,  I  think  this  might 
be  call’d  double  gain.  And  since  as  to  the  Cost  part  (besides 
the  Sin  of  Intemperance)  we  are  much  hurt  by  the  needless 
Expence  of  Imported  Liquors ;  I  conceive  that  the  needless 
multiplying  Taverns  and  Retailers ,  tends  further  to  impov¬ 
erish  us.  For  Persons  thus  employ'd  think  to  get  a  Living 
by  their  Business,  and  so  are  for  drawing  and  vending  as 
much  Liquor  as  they  can,  and  its  to  be  fear’d,  criminally  in¬ 
courage  others  to  buy;  and  the  more  is  spent  for  what’s 
Imported,  the  more  must  be  Exported  in  one  thing  or  other 
to  Pay  for  it.  And  tho’  some  may  think  it  a  Publick  ad¬ 
vantage  to  multiply  Licences  for  selling  of  Drmk,  to  draw 
more  Excise  Money  into  the  Treasury ;  yet  I  conceive  it  to 
be  a  Publick  hurt,  because  our  Import  must  be  answered  by 
our  Export ;  and  yet  we  have  not  enough  of  the  latter  to  do 
it ;  therefore  our  Silver  Money  is  gone.  A  needless  multi¬ 
plying  of  Retailers,  whether  of  Drink  or  Shop  Goods,  is  no 
advantage  to  the  Publick.  For  if  the  same  Goods  are 
bought  by  Ten  Persons  one  after  another,  with  design  to 
Sell  again  [7]  before  the  Person  buys  them  that  designs  to 
wear  or  use  them  ;  each  of  those  Ten  Persons  aims  at  Gain 
in  passing  thro’  his  hands,  and  the  last  buyer  and  user  pays 
it  all ;  whereas  if  he  had  bought  it  of  the  first  or  second 
Seller,  he  might  have  sav’d  the  gain  which  the  other  Eight 
or  Nine  Persons  had,  and  those  Persons  might  have  been  im- 
ployed  in  other  Business.  For  tho’  in  this  case  supposed,  the 


356  Colonial  Currency 

Eight  or  Nine  needless  Retailers ,  get  some  gain  to  themselves, 
and  the  last  buyer  and  user  pays  it  all,  yet  the  Province  or 
Publick  is  not  enrich’d  one  Farthing  by  their  labour.  If  they 
had  been  employ’d  in  Husbandry  or  Handy  craft- Business ; 
there  would  probably  have  been  some  produce  of  their  la¬ 
bour  for  the  Publick  Good;  either  Grain ,  Cattle ,  Hemp , 
Flax  raised,  or  C loath.  Shoes,  or  Utensils  made,  which  might 
be  serviceable  to  themselves  or  others ;  but  their  meer  hand - 
ing  of  goods  one  to  another,  no  more  increases  any  Wealth  in 
the  Province,  than  Persons  at  a  Fire  increase  the  Water  in 
a  Pail,  by  passing  it  thro’  Twenty  or  Forty  hands .  This 
matter  might  be  considered,  as  to  Petty  Shops ,  especially 
Hucksters  and  Forestallers  of  the  Market .  I  would  not  be 
thought  here  to  condemn  Retailing  in  general,  for  doubtless 
Persons  may  get  an  honest  Living  by  it,  and  those  who  buy 
of  them  may  be  gainers  too,  by  having  the  Commodities 
brought  nearer,  which  prevents  the  Time  and  Expence  of 
travelling  farther  for  them.  It’s  therefore  only  [8]  a  needless 
Retailing  (whether  of  Drink  or  other  Commodities')  which  I 
look  on  as  hurtful  to  the  Publick,  because  the  Persons  so 
employed,  really  raise  or  produce  no  good  to  the  Publick, 
which  they  might  do  if  labouring  in  some  other  and  proper 
business.  Needless  Retailers,  with  respect  to  any  Publick 
benefit,  are  really  Idlers ;  they  help  to  spend  what  is  Raisea 
or  Imported,  but  produce  neither  by  their  labour. 

Thus  I’ve  hinted  by  what  way  and  means  I  conceive  our 
Silver  has  been  Exported,  and  we  are  sunk  so  deep  in  Debt, 
viz.  by  Importing  and  spending  many  things  which  we  had 
better  been  without ;  and  by  an  excessive  spending  some 
things  Imported,  which  in  themselves  consider’d,  and  in  their 
time  and  measure  may  be  reckon’d  useful. 


Reprint  357 

Now  the  Question  is,  How  to  redress  this  grievance ,  &  ex¬ 
tricate  our  selves  from  these  difficulties .  I  think  this  Ques¬ 
tion  is  not  improper  to  be  thought  upon,  by  any  one  that 
wishes  well  to  this  Province,  as  I’m  sure  I  heartily  do.  My 
Opinion  is,  that  we  can’t  suddenly  or  at  once  get  rid  of  these 
difficulties,  which  our  own  Folly  and  Extravagance  have 
brought  us  into.  Yet  I  Conjecture,  that  in  a  few  Years 
time,  by  an  ordinary  course  of  Providence  we  might  gradu¬ 
ally  free  our  selves  from  them.  When  a  Traveller  knows 
he  has  missed  his  way,  he  often  goes  back  in  the  same  Path, 
’till  he’s  sure  that  lie  is  in  the  right  [9]  road  again.  I  think 
we  should  take  the  same  method.  In  the  mean  time,  let  us 
Cultivate  Peace ,  Love ,  Unity ,  not  be  hard  on  one  another  for 
different  sentiments,  about  ways  to  mend  our  Circumstances ; 
let  us  not  foment  Parties  and  Factions ,  but  studiously  avoid 
them,  as  we  love  God  and  our  Country,  Every  City  or  House 
divided  against  it  self  shall  not  stand '  Thus  watching 
against  Discord,  I’ll  say,  Let  not  Merchants  Import  needless 
Commodities ,  or  if  they  do,  let  us  not  buy  or  use  them ;  nor 
use  more  than  needs  of  what  is  useful  in  it  self. 

Let  no  Wool,  Hides ,  Leather ,  Grain  nor  Candles  be  Ex¬ 
ported,  when  at  a  dear  price.  Let  us  grow  more  Frugal  in 
furnishing  &  adorning  our  Houses,  in  our  Cloths ,  Food  and 
Drink ,  this  we  might  do  (many  at  least)  without  hurting 
our  Bodies  by  Cold \  Thirst  or  Hunger .  Let  us  be  diligent 
and  laborious,  to  raise ,  produce ,  make  as  much  as  we  can  for 
our  own  support,  as  to  Food,  Raiment,  Tools,  Utensils .  Let 
Husbandry,  (tilling  the  ground)  be  more  diligently  and  gen¬ 
erally  followed,  that  Bread  and  Flesh  may  be  rais’d,  and 
Barley  to  make  Drink,  that  so  the  less  Imported  Drink 
might  be  called  for.  Let  us  raise  more  Sheep  &  Flax,  and 


358  Colonial  Currency 

make  as  much  of  our  own  Clothing ,  both  Woollen  &  Linnen 
as  possibly  we  can.  If  People  would  generally  &  purposely 
chuse ,  to  wear  Cloths ,  (Woollen  &  Linnen)  Stockens ,  Shoes , 
Gloves ,  Hatts ,  of  our  own  Country  make ;  this  would  incour¬ 
age  more  to  [10]  Employ  themselves  in  making  these ,  &  in 
growing  more  skilful  and  exact  at  it,  and  would  prevent  the 
Import  of  many  Thousands  a  Year,  for  which  (among  other 
unnecessaries)  our  Silver  is  gone.  Two  Rules  well  observed 
would  help  us,  viz.  Let  us  by  diligent  labour  raise  &  make 
as  much  as  we  can  for  our  selves,  of  Food \  Raiment ,  Utensils , 
&c.  and  buy  no  more  of  Imported  Goods  than  necessity  re¬ 
quires,  I  say,  the  observing  these  Rules  would  soon  turn  the 
Scales ,  and  better  our  Circumstances :  I’m  humbly  of  opin¬ 
ion,  that  a  Thousand  Schemes  about  Banks  and  Paper- 
Money ,  would  not  help  us  like  this.  If  this  course  were  well 
followed  a  few  Years,  we  should  then  live  more  on  our  own 
Produce ,  than  now  we  do ;  we  should  raise  more  for  Export 
than  now  we  do ;  and  our  Export  in  Fish,  Oyl  Whalebone , 
Horses ,  Lumber ,  &c.  would  far  more  than  pay  for  necessary 
Importations ,  and  therefore  the  overplus  would  naturally  (as 
it  were)  return  in  Silver  and  Gold \  and  so  we  should  have 
such  Money  as  plenty  as  ever.  But  the  longer  we  continue 
in  owe  present  course  of  spending  so  much  of  Imported  Com¬ 
modities ,  and  raising  so  little  by  our  oivn  labours ,  so  much 
the  deeper  we  necessarily  sink  into  misery.  By  this  present 
course  we  are  in,  we  take  off  the  Manufactures  and  maintain 
the  Labourers  of  other  parts,  even  as  far  as  the  East  Indies , 
(by  the  Silks,  Muslins ,  &c.  we  have  from  thence)  and  pay  for 
it  (so  far  as  ’tis  [ll]  done)  not  out  of  our  Labour ,  but  our 
Stock ,  for  our  Silver  is  gone  already,  &  we  are  deep  in  debt 
into  bargain.  Our  foolish  fondness  of  Forreign  Commodities 


359 


Reprint 

&  Fashions  has  almost  ruin’d  us.  How  many  Thousand 
Pounds  within  this  Two  or  Three  Years  have  been  Ex¬ 
pended,  in  only  one  particular  instance,  viz.  Camlets  and 
trimming  for  Riding-Hoods ,  and  in  making  them  ?  Has  not 
Three  Quarters  of  this,  if  not  more,  been  ?ieedless  ;  tho’  the 
labour  in  making  has  been  paid  for  here,  yet  the  Imported 
Materials  must  be  paid  for  by  some  Export .  If  we  had  now 
Five  Hundred  Thousands  Pounds  in  Silver  Currant  among 
us,  I  believe  ’twould  soon  be  carried  off,  if  we  did  not  alter 
our  present  course,  viz.  to  be  less  fond  of  Foreign  Commodi- 
ties ,  and  to  be  more  laborious  to  raise  Necessaries  for  our 
selves . 

We  in  the  Country  think,  that  Plotting  heads ,  Proud 
hearts ,  and  Idle  hands ,  will  never  maintain  a  People ;  and 
that  a  close  following  the  Wheel  within  doors,  and  the 
Plough  without  are  much  better  and  stronger  Politicks. 
Many  complain  they  scarce  know  how  to  live ,  and  I  don’t 
wonder  at  it,  for  many  affect  to  live  higher  than  they  need, 
or  can  bear .  You  in  Boston  go  very  fine ,  we  in  the  Country 
are  smattering  at  it,  and  coming  to  it,  by  degrees.  First  by 
clipping  and  debasing  Silver  Money ,  then  by  sending  it  away , 
and  the  coming  of  Paper  Money  in  the  [12]  room  of  it ;  I 
say,  hereby  Merchants  Imported  Goods  are  come  to  an  Ex¬ 
travagant  Advance.  When  we  buy  European  or  West-India 
Goods,  we  give  for  some  double ,  for  others  more  than  double 
the  Price  that  was  given  Fifteen  or  Twenty  Years  ago. 
This  necessitates  us  in  the  Country ,  to  raise  in  some  proportion 
the  Price  of  our  Grain ,  Flesh ,  Wood ,  Hay ,  Butter ,  Cheese ,  & c. 
We  formerly  Sold  Butter ,  Six  pence  a  Pound ,  that  Six  Pence 
would  buy  Two  Pounds  of  Sugar ,  and  if  we  now  have  Nine 
pence  a  Pound  for  Butter ,  that  Nine  Pence  will  buy  but  One 


3  60  Colonial  Currency 

Pound  of  Sugar ,  or  thereabouts.  So  that  when  we  receive 
so  great  a  Price  as  we  do,  yet  we  find  it  hard  enough  to  rub 
along;  and  the  more  so,  because  Boston  distemper  is  got 
into  the  Country ,  that  is,  We  and  our  Families  are  fond  of 
many  needless  Imported  Commodities ,  and  must  pay  the  Im¬ 
porters  or  Merchants  an  Extravagant  rate  for  them.  If  this 
raising  on  one  a7iother  in  Trade,  helps  some,  yet  it  hurts 
more. 

Another  thing  which  very  much  deserves  our  considera¬ 
tion  is,  That  Salary  Men ,  Ministers,  School  Masters ,  Judges 
of  the  Circuit ,  President  &  Tutors  at  Colledge ,  Widows  and 
Orphans ,  &c .  are  pincht  and  hurt  more  than  any  ;  for  while 
they  pay  it  may  be  double  or  more,  both  for  Imported  Goods , 
and  the  Produce  of  the  Country ,  yet  their  Salaries  are  not 
increas’d  (if  at  all)  in  proportion  to  what  the  Merchant  and 
[13]  Husbandman  raises  upon  one  another,  tho’  they  must 
buy  of  both .  If  Justice  and  Equity  don’t  say,  their  Salaries 
ought  to  be  increas’d  let  any  one  judge. 

But  possibly  some  will  say,  if  we  do  our  utmost  to  raise 
necessaries  for  our  selves ,  and  buy  no  more  than  necessity  re¬ 
quires  of  Imported  Commodities ,  this  course  will  spoil  Mer¬ 
chandizing  and  Trading.  I  reply,  the  good  of  the  whole 
should  be  preferred  to  that  of  a  part.  Merchandizing  and 
Trading  are  necessary  and  profitable  for  us,  if  well  manag’d ; 
but  mismanagement  therein,  may  hurt  a  People.  Trading 
has  carried  off  our  Money ,  we  have  not  a  Shilling  in  Silver 
passing,  and  we  are  deep  in  Debt;  has  not  this  Tradmg 
almost  ruin’d  us  ?  Is  not  this,  to  buy  and  sell  and  live  by  the 
loss  ?  It  is  not  profitable  to  the  Publick,  to  have  too  many 
of  any  particular  Trade  or  Calling ,  for  they  must  either  be 
idle  (when  they  might  be  imploy’d  in  proper  business)  or 


Reprint  361 

labour  for  little  or  nothing ,  which  is  unprofitable  to  them¬ 
selves,  and  to  the  Publick  therein.  If  there  be  Merchants 
enough  to  manage  the  Export  we  can  raise  and  the  Import 
we  need,  there’s  enough  ;  Supernumeraries  are  hurtful  not 
serviceable  to  the  Publick ;  ’twould  be  better  they  were  im- 
ploy’d  in  other  business. 

Possibly,  some  think,  that  the  Emitting  more  Paper 
Money  would  bring  us  out  of  our  [14]  difficulties,  but  I’m 
humbly  of  another  Opinion.  I  think  some  engaged  in 
Trade  have  observ’d,  that  since  the  Emitting  the  last  Hun¬ 
dred  Thousand  Pounds ,  the  Price  of  Commodities  Imported , 
and  of  our  own  Produce ,  has  been  considerably  rais'd ;  which 
is  not  so  much  from  the  scarcity  of  such  Commodities ,  as 
from  the  mean  opinion  Persons  have  of  the  passing  Money . 
The  last  I  have  heard  is,  that  when  Silver  Money  is  Sold 
(now  and  then  a  little  as  some  can  get  it)  it  fetches  Eleven 
or  Twelve  Shillings  an  Ounce  in  Paper  Money ;  whereas 
according  to  our  Law  ( Seventeen  Penny  Weight  at  Six  Shil¬ 
lings)  Silver  Money  is  but  a  very  small  matter  more  than 
Seven *  Shillings  an  Ounce .  This  plainly  shows  the  low  value 
People  have  for  Paper  Money .  It  seems  as  tho’  the  more 
’tis  increas'd  the  less  Us  valued.  I’m  prone  to  think,  that  if 
every  Family  in  the  Province,  had  a  Thousand  Pounds  in 
Paper  Money ;  Twenty  Shillings  of  it,  would  not  then  buy 
so  much,  as  Five  Shillings  will  now.  In  this  Province,  Peo¬ 
ple  generally  desire  to  be  Freehold ,  they  don’t  chuse  to  be 
Tenants ,  and  pay  Rent.  But  if  we  take  up  Money  whether 
of  the  Province  ox  particular  Persons ,  on  our  Lands  ;  we  so 
far  become  Tenants  to  the  Lenders ,  and  pay  Rent  to  them. 
And  if  we  can’t  pay  when  what’s  borrowed  is  regularly 
call’d  for,  but  a  Course  of  Law  recovers  Land  from  us  ;  pos- 


362  Colonial  Currency 

sibly  more  Land  will  be  taken,  then  we  should  have  [15] 
been  willing  to  have  Sold,  for  half  so  much  more  as  we  have 
borrowed.  Possibly  some  who  have  taken  up  Money  on  their 
Lands ,  by  being  uncapable  of  paying  will  lose  them\  Fru¬ 
gality  and  Diligence  would  have  been  a  greater  kindness  to 
such,  than  their  hiring  Money  was. 

This  (out  of  true  love  to  my  dear  Country,  where  I  was 
born,  and  hitherto  have  liv’d,  without  ill  will  to  any  Person 
or  Persons  whatsoever,)  I’ve  freely  given  you  some  hints  of 
my  Opinion,  about  our  present  uncomfortable  Circum¬ 
stances  ;  you  may  consider  ’em  and  communicate  ’em  to 
your  Neighbours  if  they’l  do  any  good.  If  you  see  meet  to 
return  your  own  thoughts  to  me  in  Writing,  I  should  be 
glad  of  your  Opinion  as  to  the  following  Queries,  viz. 

If  Richer  and  Abler  Persons  and  Families ,  would  abate 
considerably  of  their  Rich  needless  fineries ,  and  costly  way  of 
living ;  therein  giving  a  leading  Example  to  Inferiors? 

If  needless  Extravagant  Expences  at  Weddings  &  Funer¬ 
als  were  retrench’d ;  and  no  Gloves  but  of  our  own  make, 
given  at  either;  nor  Drink  at  Funerals  but  of  our  own  prod¬ 
uce ;  nor  Scarves  but  for  Persons  of  some  distinguish'd 
rank  ? 

If  Counsellors ,  Ministers ,  Militay  Commission  Officers , 
would  purposely  wear  Garments ,  Shoes ,  Stockings ,  Gloves , 
Hat  Is,  (as  soon  as  they  can  get  ’em)  of  our  own  make  ? 

If  considerable  encouragement  were  given  [16]  by  the  Ptib- 
lick  for  the  Raising  and  Manufacturing  of  Hemp  and  Flax , 
especially  that  the  P.oor  in  Town  and  Country  might  be 
Employ'd ;  and  for  Manufacturing  of  Iron ,  (whereof  there 
is  plenty  of  Oar  in  the  Land,)  especially  in  Casting  Potts , 
Kettles ,  making  Nails  of  various  sorts,  &c.  ? 


Note 


363 

If  Waste  Lands  within  Townships  were  Tax'd,  to  make 
the  Owners  themselves  Improve  ’em,  or  Sell  ’em  to  those 
that  would,  for  the  producing  more  plenty  of  Grain ,  Flesh , 
Butter ,  Cheese ,  Wool \  &c. 

Whether  these  Methods  would  not  be  of  Publick  Service  ? 

But  as  to  my  own  Opinion,  ’tis  in  short  what  I  said 
before,  to  raise  what  we  can  by  our  own  labour,  to  supply  our 
selves,  and  to  buy  no  more  than  necessity  requires  of  Im¬ 
ported  Goods ,  is  the  most  sure  way  to  relieve  us. 

March  6th.  1718,  19. 


BOSTON:  Printed  for  B.  GRAY,  and  J.  ED¬ 
WARDS,  at  their  Shops  on  the  North  and  South  side 
of  the  Town- House,  in  King-Street.  1719. 

NOTE  TO  “  THE  PRESENT  MELANCHOLY  CIRCUMSTANCES 
OF  THE  PROVINCE  CONSIDERED,”  etc. 

The  opening  paragraph  of  this  pamphlet  begins  with  the  words, 
“Since  our  last  Discourse  Concerning  the  Threatening  Circumstances 
of  this  Province ,  as  to  Money  or  a  Medium  of  Trade  I  To  what 
does  the  writer  refer  ?  The  only  publication  with  which  we  have 
met  that  could  possibly  serve  for  the  reference,  is  the  next  preceding 
pamphlet,  “Some  considerations  upon  the  several  sorts  of  Banks 
propos’d  as  a  Medium  of  Trade,”  etc.,  and  at  first  sight  we  should 
be  disposed  to  reject  the  idea  that  these  two  pamphlets  could  be 
written  by  the  same  person.  The  one  advocates  the  emission  of  bills, 
whether  private  or  public,  as  a  means  of  developing  the  industries  of 
the  province,  the  other  spurns  “  Banks  and  Paper  money.”  Yet  a 
careful  analysis  of  the  two  shows  that  they  might  possibly  have  come 
from  the  same  pen,  the  modifications  of  the  opinions  expressed  in 
the  second  having  been  brought  about  through  the  lesson  taught  by 


3  64  Colonial  Currency 

the  influence  upon  the  prices  of  silver  and  commodities  of  the 

100,000  loan  in  December,  1716. 

“  Some  considerations,”  etc.,  was  written  in  the  year  1716,  after  the 
amount  of  the  proposed  emission  was  fixed,  but  evidently  before  the 
loan  was  actually  launched.  The  writer  of  that  pamphlet  is  discussing 
an  existing  condition  of  things,  and  in  suggesting  remedies  he  is  com 
fined  to  such  as  are  within  the  horizon  of  his  vision.  He  has  not 
reached  the  point  of  view  which  would  show  that  the  deplorable  con¬ 
dition  of  affairs  is  to  be  charged  to  the  excess  of  the  circulating  medium 
itself.  He  is  opposed  to  the  public  bank  because  it  puts  too  much 
power  in  the  hands  of  rulers,  and  to  the  private  bank  because  it  will 
be  managed  as  a  source  of  gain  to  the  subscribers.  Yet  he  is  willing 
to  emit  bills  indefinitely,  whether  public  or  private,  provided  they 
do  not  bear  interest,  and  provided  they  shall  be  applied  to  the  pro¬ 
motion  of  beneficial  enterprises  in  the  province.  Of  the  ;£ioo,ooo 
loan  itself  he  says  it  is  not  large  enough,  and  he  thinks  it  ought  to 
be  lent  without  interest  for  the  advance  of  husbandry  and  the  bring¬ 
ing  in  of  arts  and  trades.  He  asks,  “  Can  it  be  thought  that  a  little 
Use  Money  would  be  of  greater  benefit  than  this?  ”  In  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  his  pamphlet  he  begins  with  the  colony  on  a  silver  basis  and 
briefly  follows  the  conditions  down  to  the  substitution  of  paper 
money.  This  he  ascribes  to  the  excess  of  imports  over  exports. 
His  remedy  consists  merely  in  more  bills,  to  be  spent  in  encouraging 
home  industry. 

“  The  present  melancholy  circumstances,”  etc.  was  written  after  the 
effects  upon  prices  of  the  ;£  100,000  loan  were  fully  appreciated.  “I 
think,”  says  the  author,  “  some  engaged  in  Trade  have  observ’d,  that 
since  the  Emitting  the  last  Hundred  Thousand  Pounds ,  the  Price  of 
Commodities  Imported ,  and  your  own  Produce ,  has  been  considerably 
rais’d.”  Like  the  preceding  pamphlet  this  begins  with  a  statement  as 
to  the  silver  in  circulation  in  early  days,  where  it  came  from  and  how 
it  came  about  that  it  disappeared.  The  explanation  for  this  was 
the  same  as  that  given  in  “  Some  considerations,”  etc., —  the  excess 
of  imports  over  exports.  The  remedy,  however,  differs  materially. 
The  writer  of  1719,  with  the  lesson  of  the  loan  of  1716  staring  him 
in  the  face,  could  not  advocate  the  development  of  industries 


Note 


365 

through  the  indefinite  emission  of  bills  of  credit.  His  proposition, 
therefore,  is  for  the  people  to  boycott  imported  goods  as  far  as 
practicable  and  restore  the  conditions  which  would  render  possible 
the  influx  of  silver. 

There  are  certain  points  of  resemblance  in  the  pamphlets,  in  con¬ 
struction  and  in  style.  The  writer  of  “  Some  considerations,”  etc.,  says 
“  it  is  humbly  proposed,”  etc.  The  author  of  “  The  melancholy 
circumstances,”  etc.,  is  twice  “  humbly  of  Opinion,”  once  “  humbly 
of  another  Opinion,”  and  once  “  humbly  of  a  different  sentiment.” 

Both  pamphlets  contain  considerable  information  as  to  the  trade 
of  the  province  and  the  character  of  the  imports,  the  second  being 
especially  full.  The  one  thing  that  militates  against  the  probability 
of  the  two  being  by  the  same  person  is  the  antagonistic  attitude  on 
the  question  of  the  emission  of  bills  of  credit.  If  the  experience 
acquired  through  the  ;£  100,000  emission  of  1716  would  not  justify  so 
complete  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  a  writer,  then  the  conjecture 
that  the  two  pamphlets  may  be  by  one  and  the  same  person  can  not 
be  entertained. 

The  pamphlet  was  perhaps  when  untrimmed  a  i6mo.  It  has  16 
pages,  and  the  copy  was  originally  obtained  for  “  Tracts  relating  to 
the  Currency,”  etc.,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  His¬ 
torical  Society.1  The  facsimile  of  the  first  page  was  procured  at 
the  same  time.  The  leaves  now  measure  5f  by  3J  inches. 

A  glance  at  this  facsimile  will  show  that  J.  B.,  the  owner,  acknowl¬ 
edged  in  writing  April  19th,  1739,  that  the  pamphlet  was  given  to 
him  by  J.  C.  Who  were  J.  B.  and  J.  C.  ?  Mr.  Julius  Hi  Tuttle  easily 
identifies  the  initials  J.  B.  as  those  of  Jonathan  Belcher.  Who  else 
than  Johfi  Colman  could  J.  C.  have  been  ? 

1  The  Boston  Public  Library  and  the  Library  of  Congress  each  possess  a  copy 
of  this  pamphlet. 


o  the  5  n  Ci  )v' 

cumftancc:,  of  in  /ROVINCE 
Confide  red,  See.  'if?ll£Cl) 

1 7 1 S,p.  in  H  it  i : ;yt k.'fii Kicr.it ions 

v,v,Y--; ..  Monty, 
Notes,  or  /;///■■  <3/  (twin. 

JIBOL  7i  is  he cihul  iir  ordc;  to our  armfbmlde 
I  .ivhu*  -n  :  ?  Worth  Inn  -  .u  is  rvfo  midt . 
of ■  M.aiert.tt  „W dies*,  a-  well  . «  /V  >t  tonal  inn . 

,  •mortal  Sorts.  (  hiv  <  .’onfi.it  ur  ion  is  fuch, that  . 

Uoifjl  i  to  iv:  'll  in,  I  ood  Bt  'Raiment  uvr 

I  (fill  for  -ovr  Sr  S  hn<  e  ,  liovfcs  are  ui  u  d! y  made  of 

Wc-i-dy  Stone ,  Brkl,  Xsiwr.or  pan  ly  of  i  hem  all  •  hrnil*\9 

uiinyesy  Qictfi  for  J  .id it  •,  fee.  arc  alio  ufed  m  makin  *  a 

<  mi  ortable  H  duration  *  ',\o\v  kg obvious  t  o  every  think- 

i  >  P^r1on>  that  much  Hoik  or  L  ah  van  (as  uvj]  as  Cm//) 

•  ■  needful  to  fit  yj  prepare  theic  Materials,  to  collect 

;  •  yet  them  together  (fomcarc  oiten  Tr  ah  (ported  vety 

\  ,)  and  alio  tt>  yiyn  \w\  put  them  together.  •  Hard  La- 

[  is  ahfolutdy  necefury,  in  Building  a  Grave;;  art 

•‘-■veiling  $  and' often  a  No  in  keeping 'it  in  vo  d  upai 

at  thy  o’  'tthcidhnrf  cf  the  hands  the  Jl\arh  may  n 
1  ■  ♦>  -  /, 


id 

i 

k’ 

- 


? 

■not 


pthfiojifh. 


j  abetn* 


r 


;:i*v  ‘ 

S0fe 


7'  ' 


_ _ f 


M 


An  Addition 


To  the  Present  jftelamijolp  Circumstances 
of  the  PROVINCE  Considered,  &c. 

6th.  1718,9.  Exhibiting  Considerations 
about  Labour ,  Commerce ,  Money ,  Notes ,  or 
of  Credit. 

LABOUR  is  needful  in  order  to  our  comfortable 
Living  in  the  World.  Inasmuch  as  we  consist  of 
Material  Bodies ,  as  well  as  Rational  Immortal 
Souls .  Our  Constitution  is  such,  that  Houses  to 
dwell  in,  Food  &  Raiment  are  needful  for  our  Sub¬ 
sistence  ;  Houses  are  usually  made  of  Wood \  Stone ,  Brick , 
Lime ,  or  partly  of  them  all ;  Nails ,  Hinges ,  Glass  for  Lights, 
&c.  are  also  used  in  making  a  comfortable  Habitation  ;  Now 
its  obvious  to  every  thinking  Person,  that  much  Work  or  La¬ 
bour  (as  well  as  Cost)  is  needful  to  fit  &  prepare  these  Mate¬ 
rials,  to  collect  and  get  them  together  (some  are  often 
Transported  very  far)  and  also  to  joyn  and  put  them  together ; 
Hard  Labour  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  Building  a  Conven¬ 
ient  Dwelling ;  and  often  also  in  keeping  it  in  good  repair , 
that  thro’  the  Idleness  of  the  hands  the  House  may  not  drop 
through . 


368  Colonial  Currency 

[2]  Labours  as  needful  to  procure  Food  for  our  Bodies. 
As  to  the  Grain ,  our  Bread  is  made  of,  whether  Wheat ,  Rye, 
Indian  Corn ,  &c.  how  much  Labour ,  is  there  to  Fence  & 
Plow  the  Ground,  Sow  or  Plant  the  Seed tend  it,  reap  or 
gather  it,  Thresh ,  Grind,  Bake  it  before  it  becomes  Bread ? 
The  Flesh  we  eat,  whether  Beaf,  Pork,  Mutton,  &c.  how 
much  Labour  is  there  to  Raise,  Tend,  Feed  Cattle,  Hogs, 
Sheep,  before  their  Flesh  becomes  proper  Food  for  us  ?  As 
to  Fish  though  we  are  at  no  pains  to  raise  them,  yet  we  are 
to  catch  them,  with  Hooks,  Nets,  &c,  and  often  to  split,  salt, 
dry  them  before  they  are  fit  for  our  Food,  or  at  least  fit  to  be 
kept  any  time  without  rotting  and  perishing.  So  as  for 
Roots,  Turnips,  Parsnips ,  Carrets,  &c.  And  as  for  Or¬ 
chard  Fruits,  Apples,  Pears,  Peaches,  &c.  much  Work  & 
Labour  must  be  imployed,  to  produce  such  Things  as  these 
for  the  nourishment  of  our  Bodies. 

Labour  s  also  as  needful  to  procure  Cloaths ;  the  greatest 
part  whereof  is  commonly  made  of  Sheeps  Wool,  Cotton 
Wool,  Flax,  Hemp,  Silk  (that's  first  Spun  fine  by  the 
Worms)  Skins  of  Beasts  for  Shoes,  Gloves,  & c.  As  to 
Sheep  there’s  Labour  to  raise,  tend,  feed  them  Winter  and 
Summer  before  their  Wool  is  come  to  its  full  growth,  and 
then,  how  much  Labour  in  washing,  shearing,  carding, 
combing,  spinning,  weaving  (or  knitting)  fulling,  making 
before  we  put  it  on  our  Bodies  to  wear  ?  As  to  Flax  there 
is  Labour  in  sowing,  pulling,  dew-rotting,  or  water-rotting, 
breaking,  hatchelling,  spining,  weavmg,  &c.  before  we  use  it 
for  C loathing* 

These  few  and  brief  Hints  plainly  show,  that  much  Work 
or  Labour  is  absolutely  necessary  to  our  comfortable  Living 
in  the  World.  The  Wise  Creator  and  Governour  of  all 


Reprint  369 

things  has  fitted  and  adapted  Man  for  Work  and  Business , 
besides  the  rational  Endowments  of  his  Immortal  Soul,  he 
has  Feet  for  walking  &  Hands  for  working;  that  when  the 
Sun  ariseth ,  he  may  go  forth  to  his  work  &  labour  till  the 
evening:  he  should  work  [3]  while  it  is  day .  As  God  has 
fitted  Man  for  Work ,  so  he  has  rendred  his  working 
absolutely  needful  for  his  own  Support  and  Comfort ;  and 
has  likewise  said,  Six  Days  shalt  thou  labour ,  and  do  all  thy 
work :  Do  your  own  business ,  work  with  your  own  hands 
that  ye  may  have  lack  of  nothing ;  if  any  will  not  work 
neither  should  he  eat 

These  Things  being  so,  I  dont  see  how  we  can  possibly 
excuse  our  selves,  or  have  solid  peace  in  our  own  Breasts,  if 
we  indulge  our  selves  in  Idleness .  If  some  have  such 
Estates ,  that  the  Yearly  Incomes  enough  to  maintain  them, 
yet  since  they  have  the  same  Powers  and  Capacities  for 
Business ,  and  are  under  the  same  Supream  Law  with  others, 
they  seem  inexcusable  if  they  wrap  up  their  Talent  in  a 
Napkin ,  for  they  should  be  good  Stewards  of  the  Abilities 
betrusted  with  them.  The  greater  Estates  they  have,  the 
more  they’re  indebted  to  Divine  Providence,  and  should 
make  grateful  returns  by  vertuously  imploying  betrusted 
Abilities ;  yet  as  they  have  opportunity  they  may  do  good  to 
all  Men ,  and  become  more  able  to  give  to  him  that  needeth . 
But  Idleness  seems  to  be  a  double  aggravated  crime  in  those, 
whose  honest  Incomes  can’t  maintain  them.  If  they  can 
Work  and  wont ,  they  may  well  be  counted  Publick  Nu- 
sances ,  for  in  the  Victuals  they  eat  and  Cloaths  they  wear, 
they  really  live  on  the  Labour  of  others ,  yet  make  them  no 
recompence  for  it:  whether  this  may  be  styled  open  In¬ 
justice  or  secret  Theft ,  I’ll  leave  to  the  ingenious  to  decide. 

VOL.  I  —  24 


370 


Colonial  Currency 

God’s  A uthority  and  Mens  own  Necessities ,  makes  Work 
and  Labour  absolutely  necessary  for  them.  Therefore 
Children  should  be  Educated  (not  only  in  religious  Learn¬ 
ing  but  also)  X.o  good  Business,  for  they  should  be  trained  up 
in  the  way  wherein  they  should  go .  Idleness  should  be 
indulged  by  none,  but  Diligence  in  proper  Business,  (which 
by  God’s  Blessing  makes  rich)  should  be  ezemplifyed  in  all; 
the  more  there  is  of  such  Diligence  among  a  People,  so 
much  the  more  ’tis  (ordinarily)  for  their  own  Support  and 
Comfort.  So  far  as  [4]  we  are  thus  Industrious  we  are 
obedient  to  God,  profitable  to  our  selves,  useful  to  our 
Neighbours,  advantagious  to  Posterity,  but  Idleness  is  the 
reverse  of  all  these.  If  Sense  and  Duty  and  Interest  wont, 
I  believe  pressing,  pinching  necessity  will  make  some  more 
industrious  than  they  used  to  be.  Yet  to  prevent  mistakes, 
I’ll  say,  there  is  a  great  variety  of  Work  needful  for  the 
good  of  Humane  Persons  and  Societies;  besides  Plowing, 
Hewing  or  an  immediate  laborious  working  with  the  hands . 
The  studying  of  Languages,  Arts,  Sciences,  Divinity, 
Physick,  &c.  and  the  employing  the  skill  or  knowledge 
obtained  by  such  Study,  may  greatly  promote  the  Glory  of 
God,  the  Persons  own  benefit,  and  the  good  of  those  he  is  con¬ 
cerned  with.  This  is  true  as  to  Ministers,  School- Masters, 
Physicians,  &c. 

From  these  Hints  about  LABOUR,  we  pass  to  consider 
something  about  COMMERCE,  by  which  I  here  under¬ 
stand  all  manner  of  Exchange  in  dealing;  whether  we  Ex¬ 
change  Aloney  for  Goods,  Victuals,  Labour,  or  Exchange 
one  sort  of  Goods  for  another,  or  Labour  either  for  Labour 
or  Wages.  All  such  Exchange  I  here  comprehend  under 
the  name  of  Commerce,  and  such  Commerce  is  absolutely 


Reprint  3  7 1 

necessary  for  the  good  of  Humane  Societies.  Tho’  an 
House ,  Food  Raiment ,  are  needful  for  my  comfortable  Sub¬ 
sistence,  yet  I  can’t  be  supposed  to  be  equally  skilled  in 
making,  raising,  and  providing  these  various  and  different 
necessaries.  A  Great  variety  of  Arts ,  Skill,  Labour ,  and 
a  great  number  of  Persons  is  ss  needful  ordinarily,  to  fur¬ 
nish  so  much  as  one  Person  with  what  is  proper,  for  his 
Habitation ,  Food  and  Raiment ,  Such  is  the  scanty  nar¬ 
rowness  of  our  Capacities,  that  generally  much  Use,  Habit, 
Custom  is  needful  to  render  a  Person  truly  skilful  or  accu¬ 
rate  at  any  one  sort  of  Business.  Common  sayings  declare, 
that  Use  makes  perfect.  Experience  is  the  best  School- Master, 
Studious  Diligence  in  a  Particular  Calling ,  generally  makes 
a  Person  skilful  at  it;  the  more  Skilful,  so  much  the  faster 
[5]  and  better  he  can  Work.  The  better  he  Works,  so 
much  the  more  profitable  to  him  that  buys  and  pays;  and 
the  faster  he  Works  or  the  more  he  does,  so  much  the  more 
profitable  ’tis  for  himself. 

Every  Person  therefore  should  endeavour  to  be  Skilful 
and  Accurate  at  some  suitable  and  proper  Work  or  Busi¬ 
ness,  that  thereby  he  may  be  able  to  manage  an  honest 
Commerce  with  his  Neighbours,  and  may  make  a  just 
recompence  for  the  various  benefits  he  receives  from  them. 
For  instance,  if  a  Shoe-maker  with  the  Shoes  he  makes, 
honestly  pay  one  for  the  Leather ,  another  for  the  Thread 
he  works  up,  another  for  the  Food  his  Family  eats,  another 
for  the  Cloaths  they  wear,  &c.  herein  he  manages  an  honest 
Commerce  &  Exchange  with  those  he  is  supplyed  or  bene¬ 
fited  by.  Or  if  he  Sells  his  Shoes  for  an  honest  price  in 
Money ,  &  with  that  Money  pays  particular  Persons  he 
deals  with,  and  also  Publick  dues  to  Church  and  State ,  See, 


372 


Colonial  Currency 

herein  still  he  manages  an  honest  Commerce.  And  I  think 
some  Commerce  of  this  general  Nature,  must  be  managed 
by  every  one  that  would  live  honestly.  When  do  we  eat 
one  mouthful  of  Bread ,  or  put  on  any  Raiment  whether 
Woolen  or  Linen ,  but  that  several  Scores  of  different 
Persons  have  been  imployed  more  remotely  or  immediately, 
to  raise  and  prepare  the  same  for  our  use  ?  And  when 
the  Labour  of  so  many  is  imployed  for  my  benefit,  if  my 
Labour  (or  the  produce  of  it)  be  not  immediately  or  re¬ 
motely  an  equivalent  benefit  to  them,  I  am  then  unjust  and 
dishonest  to  them;  for  why  should  I  be  benefitted  by  their 
Labour ,  without  making  a  just  return  in  being  some  way  or 
other  as  serviceable  to  them  as  they  are  to  me?  If  we 
(being  able)  do’nt  do  at  least  as  much  good  to  Mankind, 
as  we  receive  from  them ;  then  we  are  Debtors  to  our 
Neighbours,  and  unjust  in  our  Conduct  to  them. 

Inasmuch  as  we  should  desire  to  benefit  others,  as  well 
as  be  benefitted  by  them ;  therefore  we  should  not  Sell  our 
Labour  or  the  produce  of  it,  for  more  than  ’tis  [6]  worth, 
according  to  the  Rules  of  Justice  and  Equity :  nor  should 
we  desire  to  have  our  Neighbours  Labour,  or  the  produce 
of  it,  for  less  than  the  just  Value  of  it.  Therefore  to  Sell 
as  high  or  dear,  and  Buy  as  cheap  or  low,  as  possibly  we 
can,  is  no  good  Rule  for  Christians  to  go  by:  for  we 
should  love  our  Neighbours  as  our  selves ,  &  do  as  we  would 
be  done  by. 

Among  the  many  Products  of  Humane  Labours  some  are 
looked  on  as  necessary ;  others  as  being  chiefly  for  con¬ 
venience,  ornament  or  delight.  It’s  as  plain  that  we  should 
prefer  Necessaries  to  what  is  only  for  Ornament,  or  to 
please  the  fancy.  Raiment  is  necessary  for  us,  tho’  this  or 


373 


Reprint 

that  particular  Mode ,  Cut ,  Fashion  or  Trimming  is  not  so. 
Its  criminal  therefore  if  thro’  Idleness  we  neglect  to  provide 
necessaries  for  our  selves,  or  Families;  its  criminal  also,  if 
we  employ  so  much  of  our  Labour  or  the  Produce  of  it,  in 
getting  Things  for  Ornament  or  Delight,  as  to  pinch  or 
straighten  our  selves  as  to  Necessaries ;  or  render  us  unable 
to  pay  our  just  Debts.  On  the  other  hand,  it’s  more  noble 
to  be  employed  in  serving  and  supplying  the  necessities  of 
others,  than  meerly  in  pleasing  the  fancy  of  any.  The 
Plow- Man  that  raiseth  Grain,  is  more  serviceable  to  Man¬ 
kind,  than  the  Painter  who  draws  only  to  please  the  Eye. 
The  hungry  Man  would  count  fine  Pictures  but  a  mean 
Entertainment.  The  King  himself  is  served  by  the  Field, 
The  Carpenter  who  builds  a  good  House  to  defend  us  from 
Wind  and  Weather,  is  more  serviceable  than  the  curious 
Carver ,  who  employs  his  Art  to  please  the  Fancy.  This 
condemns  not  Painting  or  Carving,  but  only  shows,  that 
what’s  more  substantially  serviceable  to  Mankind,  is  much 
preferrable  to  what  is  less  necessary.  Doubtless  Nebuchad- 
nezzers  Politicos  led  him  to  think  so,  when  to  weaken  the 
fews ,  he  carried  from  them  not  only  the  Princes  &  Mighty 
Men  of  Valour ,  but  also  the  Carpenters  and  Smiths  whose 
Occupation  was  very  necessary  &  useful  to  humane  Society. 

[7]  Indeed  when  a  People  grow  numerous,  and  part  are 
sufficient  to  raise  necessaries  for  the  whole,  then  tis  allowable 
and  laudable,  that  some  should  be  imployed  in  Innocent  Arts 
more  for  Ornament  than  Necessity :  any  innocent  business 
that  gets  an  honest  penny,  is  better  than  Idleness .  If  some 
do  nice,  curious  works  in  Gold ’  Silver,  Brass,  Iron,  Lmnen, 
Silk  & c.  and  others  whose  Estates  will  bear  it  pay  them  for 
their  Labour  and  buy  what  they  make,  this  is  much  better 


374 


Colonial  Currency 

for  the  Publick ,  than  that  any  should  be  idle :  This  yields 
the  greatest  satisfaction  to  me,  as  to  many  unnecessary 
Niceties  and  Curiosities  in  building ;  adorning  furnishing  of 
Houses ,  in  making  fine  costly  Gardens ,  Cloaths  & c.  that 
hereby  the  Poor  are  imployed  and  maintained, \  when  they 
could  scarce  find  work  and  get  a  living ;  if  no  business  was 
done  amongst  mankind,  but  what  is  in  its  own  nature  neces¬ 
sary  to  provide  Habitations ,  Food  and  Raiment :  If  the  Rich 
thus  pay  for  such  needless  Curiosities,  chiefly  to  imploy  and 
maintain  the  Poor ,  its  noble  and  generous  in  them,  better 
than  if  they  had  given  them  the  Cost  thereof  for  nothing : 
but  if  chiefly  to  gratifie  their  own  pride,  its  criminal  in  them . 
Yet  observe,  if  we  are  rich  and  able ;  its  better  to  imploy  and 
maintain  the  Poor  among  our-selves ,  than  those  in  foreign 
parts . 

And  we  had  better  give  something  to  those  that  cant 
work,  and  to  educate  poor  Children  &c,  than  to  be  lavish  in 
buying  of  needless  curiosityes  for  our-selves. 

But  truly  our  Country  is  not  yet  of  that  Age ,  People  not 
so  numerous,  nor  we  in  such  plentiful  circumstances,  as  to 
require  that  many  (if  any)  should  be  imployed  in  niceties  and 
curiosities.  Tho’  God  has  given  us  a  good  Land,  a  very 
good  Countrey  for  those  that  will  be  industrious,  yet  it  is  a 
Northern  Climate ,  the  winter  so  long  and  cold,  as  to  make 
much  diligent  Labour  necessary  to  provide  Dwelling ,  Food 
and  Raiment ,  tho’  curiosities  are  neglected.  We  should 
therefore  Exercise  our-selves,  and  incourage  one  another  in 
imployments  [8]  directly  tending  to  supply  our  necessities, 
and  promote  our  comfortable  subsistance. 

In  Commerce  to  be  managed  by  a private  Family ,  do’s  not 
prudence  direct  us,  that  we  should  sell  or  part  with  what  we 


375 


Reprint 

can  best  spare,  and  receive  by  way  of  exchange  for  it,  what 
is  most  needful  for  us  ?  If  we  receive  money  that  an¬ 
swers  all  things  procurable  by  commerce ;  if  we  can’t  get 
that,  we  should  firstly  aim  at  whats  most  serviceable  rather 
than  at  curiosities .  And  I  presume  the  same  rules  hold 
good,  as  to  Commerce  between  one  Countrey  and  another. 
I  suppose  this  Province  doth  not  raise  nigh  so  much  Pro¬ 
visions  as  is  needful  to  feed  our-selves,  and  supply  our  Ship¬ 
ping ,  we  buy  much  from  other  places,  while  so,  would  it  not 
be  an  hurt  to  send  any  Provisions  to  a  Forreign  Markets 
But  out  of  the  produce  of  our  Labour,  we  may  spare  great 
quantities  of  Fish ,  Oyl7  Whalebone ,  &c.  and  for  these,  what 
returns  should  we  chiefly  desire  ?  Why  things  that  are 
most  serviceable  and  necessary  for  us,  and  not  for  needless 
Commodities,  sundry  of  which  were  glanced  at  in  the  Letter 
March  6  th . 

And  I  think  least  of  all  should  we  desire  so  much  Rum 
as  is  spent  here.  These  Northern  Plantations  on  the  Con¬ 
tinent,  are  great  sufferers  by  the  vast  quantities  of  Rum  spent 
among  them.  Tho’  in  some  cases  it  may  be  useful  medi¬ 
cinally,  yet  I  have  no  reason  to  think  that  ’tis  proper  for  any, 
to  make  an  usual  drink  of  it  if  the  Excise  were  so  raised, 
that  it  could  not  be  retailed  under  Ten  Shillings  a  Quart,  I 
believe  it  would  be  ten  times  better  for  this  Province  than  it 
is.  If  the  high  price  might  restrain  many  of  the  poor  la¬ 
bourers,  from  getting  Rum  and  Flip\  I  believe  their  needy 
Families  would  be  much  better  provided  for  than  they 
are.  Don’t  some  say,  that  when  Men  drink  so  much, 
they  drink  the  blood  of  their  Wives  and  Children ;  that 
is,  they  waste  the  cost  which  should  provide  necessaries 
for  their  Families. 


376  Colonial  Currency 

If  the  Labourers  in  my  Family  spend  one  fortnight  [9] 
(I’ll  suppose)  in  a  year,  to  get  Hoops  or  Staves  for  a  West 
India  Market ;  and  we  spend  the  returns  of  it  in  Rum ,  this 
would  be  but  a  miserable  Commerce  for  my  Family.  We 
could  have  done  well  enough  without  the  Rum ,  and  if  that 
Fortnights  Labour  had  been  spent  in  raising  Grain ,  there 
would  have  been  a  better  supply  of  Necessaries ;  if  in  raising 
Flax  or  Hemp ,  we  might  be  employ’d  in  the  Winter  in  dres¬ 
sing  it ;  instead  of  spending  our  Time  and  burning  our 
Skins  over  our  Drams . 

I’m  humbly  of  the  Opinion,  that  multiplying  of  Taverns , 
Licences  to  Retail  Drink,  and  the  Drinking  so  much  Rum , 
have  been  unspeakably  hurtful  to  this  Province,  and  if  not 
speedily  retrenched  will  evidently  hurt  and  impoverish  us 
much  more.  If  the  needless  cost  in  Rum  in  a  few  Years 
past  were  computed,  would  it  not  amount  to  as  much  as  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Province  have  taken  up  upon  their  Lands? 
If  that  cost  in  Rum  had  been  spared,  might  not  this  Mort¬ 
gaging  their  Lands  have  been  in  some  measure  prevented  ? 
If  any  ingenious  Person  could  pretty  fully  inform  the  Pub- 
lick,  how  much  Rum  is  Retailed  and  Spent  in  this  Province 
in  One  Year ;  it  might  possibly  give  to  some  a  new  view  of 
things,  and  make  them  more  careful  to  prevent  or  suppress 
what  threatens  us. 

The  Order  that  I  proposed,  requires  that  I  should  nextly 
say  something  about  MONEY.  •  And  by  this  I  principally 
mean  &  intend,  Gold  or  Silver  that  has  some  Mark  or 
Stamp  on  it  by  Publick  Authority ,  shewing  it  to  be  Legal 
and  Current  Coin,  whether  it  passeth  by  Tale  or  Weight. 
Tho’  I  conceive  what  passes  by  Tale  is  supposed  to  have 
such  a  Weight  as  the  Law  prescribes  for  it,  as  Crowns ;  Shik 


377 


Reprint 

lings,  &c.  As  for  such  Silver  &  Gold  Money,  I  think  it  is 
Universally  esteemed  by  all  Civilized  Nations,  has  been  so 
in  all  Ages ;  and  is  reckoned  the  best  Medium  of  Trade  or 
Exchange,  by  all  that  are  much  used  in  Buying  and  Selling. 

Money  s  more  durable  than  Eatables,  Drinkables  and  other 
Commodities  which  Person  often  Exchange  with  [10]  one 
another.  In  Silver  &  Gold  a  great  Price  or  Value  may  be 
contained  in  a  small  Compass,  a  small  Quantity:  a  small 
handful  of  Money  may  buy  Cart-Loads  of  some  other  things 
that  are  yet  very  useful  for  us.  Money  also  is  easy  of  Trans¬ 
portation,  a  great  Value  may  be  easily  Transported  by  Land 
or  Water.  These  considerations  render  Money  very  Com¬ 
modious  and  Useful  in  Trade  ox  Commerce .  Gold  &  Silver 
are  reckon’d  to  have  an  intrinsick  Value  in  them,  and  some¬ 
times  they  are  used  to  make  Rings,  Jewels ,  Spoons,  Cups,  &c. 
but  Money  s  chiefly  useful  to  Men,  as  its  the  most  conven¬ 
ient  Medium  of  Exchange  or  Commerce.  The  Wise  Man 
says,  Money  answers  all  things .  If  a  Man  has  Money  enough, 
he  may  buy  Food  and  Raiment,  any  thing  for  Necessity  or 
Delight,  that’s  attainable  by  Commerce.  Generally  Men  had 
rather  have  ready  Money  than  any  thing  else,  for  what  they 
Sell ;  and  Money  will  more  readily  Buy  what’s  wanted,  than 
any  thing  else  will.  This  proceeds  from  the  Universal  Value 
and  Esteem,  which  Men  have  for  Money .  It’s  true,  The  love 
of  Money  is  the  root  of  all  Evil ;  Covetousness  is  idolatry ;  if 
we  take  such  Corruptable  Things  as  Silver  and  Gold  for  our 
chief  treasure ;  if  we  make  Gold  our  hope,  &  fine  Gold  our 
Confidence ;  I  say,  to  do  this,  must  needs  be  criminal,  provok¬ 
ing  to  God  and  hurtful  to  our  selves;  yet  the  Universal  Es¬ 
teem  Men  have  for  Money  (if  it  be  not  excessive)  seems  to 
be  a  favour  and  benefit  of  God  to  Mankind ;  because  thereby 


3  78  Colonial  Currency 

it  becomes  an  Universal  Medium  of  Exchange  or  Commerce. 
If  a  Man  has  Forty  different  things  to  buy,  and  Money 
enough ;  ’twill  buy  them  all  as  readily  or  more  readily,  than 
if  he  had  Forty  sorts  of  Commodities  to  part  with  for  them. 
There ’s  an  Esteem  of  Money  which  is  lawful  not  vicious ; 
when  its  valued  as  the  best  Medium  of  Trade  or  Exchange. 
Such  an  Esteem  of  it  Abraham  had,  when  he  offered  Money 
to  buy  a  Burying  Place ;  and  Jacob ,  when  he  sent  Money  to 
Egypt  to  buy  Corn  in  a  time  of  Famine ;  and  David [11]  when 
he  offered  Money  for  a  Spot  of  Ground  to  build  an  altar  on. 
Money  being  the  best,  most  approved  Universal  Medium  of 
Exchange ;  the  more  plenty  there  is  of  it  among  a  People, 
the  more  easily  they  may  manage  all  their  Affairs  of  Trade 
or  Commerce .  If  a  Man  can  have  ready  Money  for  what  he 
doth,  or  Sells,  and  his  Money  will  Buy  what  he  has  occasion 
for,  this  renders  the  management  of  his  Affairs  very  easy,  to 
what  otherwise  ’twould  be.  A  Bartering  Trade  is  very 
troublesome,  tho’  sometimes  needful  for  want  of  Money .  It 
was  one  of  the  great  Outward  Blessings  of  King  Solomons 
Reign,  that  Money  was  very  plenty  among  his  People. 

Inasmuch  therefore  as  the  Export  of  this  Country,  must 
necessarily  exceed  what  we  spend  of  Imported  Commodities, 
in  order  to  the  making  Money  pass  Current  among  us;  it 
must  needs  be  wise  in  us,  to  Spend  as  little  as  need  requires 
of  Imported  Goods,  and  to  Raise,  Make,  Produce,  as  much 
as  we  can  for  our  own  Supply.  The  great  Wisdom  of  our 
British  Nation  appears  in  incouraging  their  own  Produce , 
their  own  Manufacture ;  in  incouraging  Labour ,  Industry , 
Diligence ,  Useful  Arts  and  Trades  among  themselves,  that 
so  their  own  People  may  live  by  their  own  Labour .  And 
should  not  we  who  proceed  from  them  imitate  this  their 


379 


Reprint 


Iaudible  Wisdom  and  Industry}  Methinks  the  more  we  do 
so,  the  more  we  deserve  their  Praise  and  Commendation.  If 
it  is  Wise  and  advantageous  in  them  to  do  thus,  must  they 
not  commend  it  as  Wise  and  Advantageous  in  us,  to  imitate 
them  herein  ? 

The  Preamble  of  our  Act ,  1716.  for  Emitting  on  Loan  an 
Hundred  Thousand  Pound  Bills  of  Credit ,  says, ‘All  the  Sil¬ 
ver  Money  which  formerly  made  Payments  in  Trade  to  be 
‘easy,  is  now  sent  into  Great  Britain  to  make  Returns  for 
‘part  of  what  is  owing  there.  Since  they  have  all  our  Money 
already,  they  must  needs  rejoyce  to  see  us  more  Industrious 
and  Frugal  to  maintain  our  selves,  that  we  mayn’t  run  farther 
into  their  [12]  Debt,  and  have  nothing  to  pay  them.  Parents 
are  pleased  to  see  their  Children  Thrive  by  their  Business; 
and  must  it  not  be  pleasing  to  our  Nation ,  to  see  us  to  imi¬ 
tate  the  Wise,  Industrious  Example  they  set  us,  as  to  Thrive 
and  Prosper  also,  at  least  to  Support  our  selves?  Would  it 
not  grieve  them  to  see  us  Proud,  Lazy,  Extravagant,  Spend¬ 
thrifts,  bringing  our  selves  (for  want  of  Wise  Industrious 
Methods)  into  perplexing  Difficulties?  Yet  how  faulty  are 
we  herein?  We  have  been  so  deficient  in  Farming ,  and 
managing  our  own  Manufacture ,  lived  so  much  above  our 
Abilities ,  spent  so  much  of  Imported  Commodities;  that 
our  Money  s  gone,  there’s  lcarce  a  Penny  of  it  passing 
for  a  Twelvemonth.  We  need  pity ,  and  deserve  shame , 
for  these  our  Mismanagements ;  let  us  be  Wise  and  do 
better. 

Now  Consider,  NOTES  OR  BILLS  OF  CREDIT. 
Indeed  I  have  not  so  great  a  clearness  in  my  own  mind 
about  these  things,  as  possibly  some  others  have  ;  Yet  I’ll 
humbly  offer,  that  I  take  the  Nature  of  such  Bills  to  be  to  help 


3  80  Colonial  Currency 

our  Memories ,  shewing  how  much  is  Due  to  us;  and  the 
securing  our  Interest,  by  Intitling  us  to  so  much  as  the  Bill 
specifies,  from  those  obliged  by  it  to  pay  us.  A  Note  or  Bill 
of  Credit  is  not  Money ,  nor  supposed  (in  it  self  considered) 
to  be  Payment ,  but  rather  a  Security  that  Payment  shall  be 
made  in  such  a  time.  A.  obliges  himself  by  a  Note  under 
his  Hand,  to  pay  Five  Pounds  to  B.  in  Two  Months  time; 
this  Note  is  neither  Money  nor  Payment,  but  carries  the 
Nature  of  a  Bond  or  Obligation,  to  make  Payment  at  the 
Time  mentioned.  The  present  want  of  Money ,  seems  to  be 
the  very  reason  &  Foundation  of  this  Note ;  for  if  he  who 
Binds  himself  by  it,  had  Five  Pounds  Money  to  lay  down, 
what  need  he  Bind  himself  to  Pay  it  Two  Months  hence? 
Every  one  had  rather  have  present  pay,  than  be  assured  by  a 
Note  he  shall  be  paid  hereafter.  If  every  one  could  make 
present  Pay,  for  Work  done  or  Goods  Bought ;  he  would 
have  no  occasion  to  desire  Creditor  s  Patience,  or  [13]  to  give 
a  Note  to  Pay  him  after  such  a  Time.  So  that  generally 
speaking,  Present  want  of  Money,  is  the  Reason  or  Founda¬ 
tion  of  Notes  or  Bills  of  Credit. 

Of  such  Bills,  some  are  of  a  more  Private,  some  of  a  more 
Publick  nature.  I  conceive  their  private  ones  concern  (ordi¬ 
narily)  only  those  Particular  Persons  whose  names  are  men¬ 
tioned  therein.  If  A.  obliges  himself  by  a  Note  to  pay  Five 
pounds  to  B.  in  three  months  from  the  Date  thereof;  this 
Note  is  of  no  benefit  but  to  B .  nor  can  it  effect  any  good  for 
him,  till  the  three  months  are  ended.  If  a  Note  mentions  the 
term  of  time,  when  payment  is  to  be  made ;  at  the  Expiration 
of  that  term,  the  Obligation  should  be  fulfilled,  and  payment 
be  deferred  no  longer.  If  no  particular  term  be  mentioned, 
but  A ,  is  obliged  to  pay  Five  Pounds  to  B .  upon  Demand,  it’s 


Reprint  3  8 1 

then  supposed,  that  very  quickly,  or  whenever  B ,  pleases,  he 
may  demand  and  receive  his  Five  Pounds. 

Some  such  thing  as  this  must  necessarily  be  understood, 
where  there’s  no  particular  term  set  for  payment;  else  the 
Note  would  only  be  a  Declaration,  that  A .  would  always  owe 
for  Five  Pounds  to  B. and  a  thousand  of  such  Notes  or  Dec¬ 
larations  are  not  worth  a  Straw :  I  would  thank  no  man  for 
his  Note  or  Bond ,  obliging  himself  always  to  owe  me  a  Thou¬ 
sand  Pounds,  for  if  he  always  owes  it,  he  never  pays  it,  and 
so  I  shall  never  be  the  better  for  it. 

This  may  shew  too,  how  weak  and  groundless  a  fancy  ’tis, 
that  Paper  Money  (as  it’s  called)  or  Province  Bills ,  or  Bank 
Bills ,  if  such  there  were,  might  be  confirmed  and  establish’d 
so,  as  to  be  of  perpetual  currency  and  use  like  Silver  Money. 
Those  who  entertain  this  Notion,  may  for  all  me,  please 
themselves  with  Notes  and  Bonds ,  whereby  Persons  ingage 
always  to  owe  (consequentially  never  to  pay)  them  so  much 

- Again  A.  may  give  a  Note  to  B.  to  receive  Five  Pounds 

of  C.  or  in  other  words,  may  draw  a  Note  upon  C.  to  pay 
unto  B.  Five  Pounds  upon  sight  of  said  Note,  or  [14]  in  so 
many  Days  after.  If  C.  doth  protest  or  refuse  this  Note,  then 
’tis  of  no  present  immediate  use  to  anyone.  If  C.  accepts 
the  Note,  he’s  then  oblig’d  to  act  as  that  directs.  In  this 
case  the  Note  is  of  no  immediate  use  or  benefit  to  any  but 
to  B.  again. 

If  A.  gives  a  Note  in  General  terms  to  this  purpose,  ‘  viz. 

4 1  acknowledge  my  self  Debtor  Five  Pounds  to  the  Possessor 
‘of  the  Note,  and  oblige  my  self  to  pay  said  Sum  at  the  end 
‘  of  Three  Months,  from  the  Date  hereof.  Dated  this 
‘  &c. - A. - 

Such  a  Note ,  persons  may  receive  or  refuse  at  pleasure, 


382  Colonial  Currency 

none  can  be  obliged  to  accept  it,  but  the  more  the  Ability 
and  Honesty  of  A.  (who  Subscribes  the  Note)  is  known,  so 
much  the  more  likely  ’tis,  that  the  Note  will  pass  with  some 
persons,  if  they’re  satisfied  ’tis  not  Counterfeit. 

These  Bills  or  Notes  already  mentioned,  are  of  a  private 
Nature ;  their  whole  Credit  or  Value  depends  on  the  Ability, 
and  Obligation  of  some  particular  person  considered  as  in  a 
private  capacity. 

But  then  other  Notes  or  Bills  of  Credit  are  of  a  Publick 
Nature;  there  is,  the  Anthority  or  Government  in  a  King¬ 
dom  or  Country,  ingages  to  make  them  good,  to  Pay  or  Dis¬ 
count  them.  I  take  our  Province  Bills  (and  those  of  Neigh¬ 
bouring  Governments,  New- Hampshire,  Connecticut ,  &c.  to 
be  of  this  Nature.  And  tho’  these  Bills  are  in  common  Dis¬ 
course  called  Paper  Money ,  yet  the  Law  does  not  look  on 
them  as  Money ,  but  calls  them  Bills  of  Publick  Credit .  He 
therefore  that  receives  one  of  these  Bills,  doth  not  receive 
Money,  nor  pay  properly  so  called.  He  that  pays  down  what 
he  ows,  hath  not  occasion  to  be  credited  or  trusted;  but  in¬ 
asmuch  as  the  Province  had  not  ready  Money  to  serve  the 
Publick  occasions,  therefore  they  emitted  these  Notes  or 
Bills  of  Credit,  as  Security  to  the  Possessor  of  the  Bill  for  the 
Sum  specified  in  it.  For  Instance,  the  Twenty  Shillings  Bill. 
‘  This  Indented  Bill  of  Twenty  [15]  Shillings  due  from  the 
‘  Province  of  the  Massachusetts- Bay  in  New-England \  to  the 
‘  possessor  thereof,  shall  be  in  value  equal  to  Money ;  and 
‘shall  be  accordingly  accepted  by  the  Treasurer,  and  Re¬ 
ceivers  subordinate  to  him  in  all  Publick  payments,  and  for 
‘  any  Stock  at  any  time  in  the  Treasury  &c. 

He  that  possesseth  the  Bill,  do’s  not  possess  Twenty  Shil¬ 
lings,  for  that  Sum  is  due  (therefore  not  paid)  to  him  ;  nor 


Reprint  .  383 

do’s  he  possess  Money,  for  the  Bill  is  to  be  in  value  equal  to 
Money,  therefore  the  Bill  is  nothing  but  a  Note  or  Instru¬ 
ment  whereby  the  Province  is  obliged  to  Pay  or  Discount 
Twenty  Shillings  to  the  Possessor.  I  use  the  word  pay  or 
discount,  because  tho’  the  Bill  says,  Twenty  Shillings  are  due, 
from  the  Province  to  the  Possessor ,  yet  it  do’s  not  directly 
say,  that  the  Province  shall  pay  Twenty  Shillings  to  the  Pos¬ 
sessor  ;  but  only  that  this  Bill  shall  be  accepted  as  equal  to 
Money  by  the  Treasurer,  &c.  or  if  there  be  any  Stock  in  the 
Treasury  the  Possessor  may  bring  his  Bill,  and  have  Twenty 
Shillings  worth  (as  I  take  the  meaning  to  be)  of  said  Stock. 

But  I  don’t  see  it  likely,  that  there  should  be  any  Stock  in 
the  Treasury  besides  Bills  ;  while  the  Bills  are  to  be  received 
there  at  five  per  Cent  advance  ;  for  while  so,  who  would  pay 
his  Tax  in  any  thing  besides  Bills  ?  The  Province  owes  the 
Possessor  Twenty  Shillings,  when  the  Possessor  is  taxed  one 
and  Twenty  Shillings  to  the  Province,  and  brings  this  Bill, 
the  Treasurer  receives  it,  and  so  the  Twenty  Shillings  due  to 
the  Possessor  is  discounted,  yea,  his  Twenty  Shillings  pass 
for  Twenty  one  Shillings,  by  the  five  per  Cent,  advance. 
So  that  I  humbly  conceive,  the  principal  way  of  Sinking  the 
Bills,  will  be  by  calling  them  in,  and  discounting  with  (rather 
than  paying)  the  Possessor. 

The  Fund  or  Security  for  Province  Bills,  is  the  Duties  of 
Impost  and  Excise,  and  also  the  Tax  to  be  levied  on  Polls, 
and  Estates  both  Real  and  Personal ;  as  Appears  by  the 
Acts  for  emitting  Bills.  Ano.Dom .  1702.  &  1703.  [16] 

Therefore  the  more  of  these  Bills  are  received  into  the 
Treasury,  by  Impost ,  Excise  and  Rates ,  so  much  the  less  the 
Province  is  in  Debt ;  for  this  drawing  Bills,  discounts  with  the 
Possessors  of  them. 


3  84  Colonial  Currency 

And  the  shorter  the  time  is  for  drawing  in  of  Bills  the 
greater  will  be  their  value  and  esteem  in  the  minds  of  Per¬ 
sons.  Every  one  desires  present  pay ;  if  this  can’t  be  had, 
yet  the  sooner  the  Debt  is  paid  or  discounted,  so  much  the 
better  to  the  Creditor.  Any  one  had  rather  have  a  Note 
from  his  Debtor ;  to  pay  him  in  Three  Months,  than  in  three 
Years.  Therefore  to  defer  the  paying  or  discounting  a  Bill 
of  Credit  is  a  certain  and  effectual  way  to  depreciate  or  lessen 
the  value  of  it.  In  Private  Dealings,  if  a  Person  finds  that 
he  whom  he  Trades  with,  doth  not  keep  his  word,  nor  pay  at 
the  time  he  oblig’d  himself  by  his  Note;  he’ll  be  the  more 
backward  to  deal  with  or  trust  him  for  the  future :  This  is 
too  true  and  plain  to  need  proof.  The  nature  of  the  thing  is 
the  same,  as  to  Publick  Bills.  It’s  the  promise  or  ingage- 
ment  of  the  Government,  that  gives  the  whole  value  and  cur¬ 
rency  to  the  Bill,  and  makes  so  much  due  from  the  Province 
to  the  Possessor  of  it.  If  therefore  the  Ingagement  be  not 
complied  with  at  the  time  set,  but  payment  (or  calling  in  or 
discounting  the  Bill)  be  postponed;  does  not  this  lessen  the 
value  of  the  Bill?  and  some  wise  and  good  Persons  even 
doubt  about  the  fairness  of  this  postponing,  however  it  seems 
plain,  that  it  do’s  not  commend  Publick  Ingagements,  to  the 
belief  or  trust  of  Persons. 

Do’s  it  not  give  them  an  handle  to  argue  ;  that  if  the  ful¬ 
filling  of  one  Public  promise  be  postponed,  so  it  may  be 
with  another,  and  what  will  publick  Faith  (or  ingagement) 
signifie  after  this  rate  ?  Whereas  it  is  the  Wisdom,  Honour 
and  Safety  of  any  Government  to  have  their  Credit  strength¬ 
en’d,  and  all  their  Ingagements  readily  relied  on. 

If  some  will  say  this  Postponing  is  no  hurt,  for  the  [17] 
promise  is  made  to  ourselves,  and  we  may  defer  the  accom- 


Reprint  385 

plishment  at  pleasure.  Reply.  But  is  not  the  matter  other¬ 
wise?  The  Ingagement  in  the  Bill  is  made  by  the  Province 
or  Government,  not  to  it,  but  to  the  Possessor  of  the  Bill. 
And  generally  speaking,  none  but  he  to  whom  the  Promise 
is  made  ;  can  fairly  release  or  defer  the  Accomplishment  of  it. 
If  a  Person  engageth  to  pay  me  20  s.  at  Two  Months  end, 
when  that  term  is  Expired,  he  can’t  fairly  defer  Payment, 
without  my  leave  or  Allowance. 

However,  if  Postponing  the  drawing  in  of  Bills,  does  sink 
the  Credit  or  Esteem  of  them,  and  so  raise  the  Price  of  Com¬ 
modities  Imported  and  Produced  here ;  this  hurts  many. 
The  Merchant  and  Husbandman  seems  least  hurt,  because 
they  can  raise  on  the  Commodities  they  Sell  to  each  other, 
and  so  keep  a  sort  of  Ballance.  But  those  suffer  greatly, 
who  live  on  Salaries  and  on  the  Ititerest  or  Incomes  of  their 
Estates ;  and  so  do  Tradesmen  and  Day-Labourers .  If  I’m 
a  Labourer  and  can  have  Four  Shillings  for  a  Days  Work, 
and  a  few  Years  ago  I  could  buy  Wheat  for  Five  Shillings  a 
Bushel,  but  now  must  give  Ten  ;  this  shows,  that  the  Prod¬ 
uce  of  my  Labour  is  not  above  half  the  Benefit  to  me  that 
it  was.  This  is  a  very  great  pressure  and  burden  on  poor  La¬ 
bourers,  and  I  can’t  but  think  it’s  much  owing,  to  the  mean 
opinion  Persons  have  of  Bills  of  Credit . 

I  think  I  have  heard,  as  tho’  in  South- Carolina ,  Silver 
Money  has  been  above  30  s.  an  Ounce,  and  that  a  pair  of 
Shoes  have  cost  above  Forty  Shillings  there  in  Bills,  when 
possibly  8  or  9  Shillings  in  Silver  would  have  purchased 
them.  We  should  take  heed  in  this  Province ,  that  we  don’t 
stear  the  same  Course  with  them.  Therefore  it  seems  much 
for  the  advantage  of  this  People  (in  my  apprehension)  to 
have  the  Bills  of  Publick  Credit  called  into  the  Treasury,  as 

VOL.  I  —  25 


386  Colonial  Currency 

soon  as  the  Establishment  they  are  on  will  admit  of.  To 
increase  such  Bills,  or  continue  them  out  longer  than  the  foot 
they’re  on  requires,  appears  to  me  to  be  a  me-[18]thod  for 
continuing  and  increasing  our  misery.  To  desire  the  Emit¬ 
ting  more  Bills,  or  Postponing  the  Collecting  of  outstanding 
ones,  is  plainly  desiring  to  be  in  Debt,  whenas  every  wise 
and  honest  Man  should  desire  to  be  out  of  Debt,  &  to  owe 
no  man  any  thing  but  love .  Parents  should  lay  up  for  their 
Children ,  but  if  the  present  Generation  do  not  draw  in  the 
Publick  Bills  as  soon  as  fairly  maybe,  they  may  Intail  Debts 
on  their  Posterity ;  who  must  (Buy  as  it  were,  &)  Pay  for  the 
Inheritances  their  Fathers  left  them,  if  they  would  be  the  full 
and  proper  Owners  of  them.  And  is  it  not  unkind  in  Parents, 
thus  to  antecipate,  and  while  Living  to  spend  on  that  which 
after  they  are  Dead,  their  Children  must  Labour  and  Pay 
for  ? 

But  here’s  a  Difficulty  to  be  considered,  Paper  Money 
(as ’tis  called)  is  so  scarce  already,  that  it’s  something  trou¬ 
blesome  to  deal  between  Man  and  Man  for  want  of  more ; 
and  the  more  is  called  in,  the  greater  will  the  Difficulty  be. 

Reply.  Tho’  its  difficult  now  and  probably  will  be  more  so 
for  a  while,  yet  it  may  be  considered,  that  the  pressing  Diffi¬ 
culty  should  make  us  do  all  we  can  to  get  rid  of  it ;  which 
(I  suppose)  can’t  be  done,  till  the  Bills  are  called  in  and 
Burnt.  This  can’t  be  done  at  once  but  gradually.  And  the 
lessening  their  Quantity  will  certainly  increase  their  Value, 
so  that  gradually  they’l  be  esteemed  as  good  as  Silver 
Money ,  tho’  now  there’s  a  vast  Difference.  And  I  think  the 
Price  of  Commodities  Imported  and  Produced  here,  must 
necessarily  fall ,  as  the  Value  and  Esteem  of  Bills  do  rise . 
This  seems  a  likely  way  too,  to  make  Money  gradually  pass 


Reprint  387 

again  among  us;  For  if  the  Value  of  Bills  does  rise  to 
be  Equal  with  Money  in  Private  Commerce,  and  Five  Shil¬ 
lings  in  Money  will  Buy  no  more  than  a  Five  Shilling  Bill, \ 
then  the  Possessor  will  almost  as  readily  part  with  one  as 
t’other.  But  now,  tho’  Quantities  of  Silver  (as  I’ve  heard) 
are  Yearly  brought  into  the  Country,  yet  the  difference  be¬ 
tween  [19]  that  and  Bills  being  so  great  as  ’tis,  the  Silver 
does  not  pass  between  Man  and  Man  in  common  dealing, 
but  is  bought  up  by  the  Merchants  to  make  Returns  to 
Great  Britain. 

If  you  ask,  Whether  An  Act  to  cause  Impost  &  Excise  to 
be  paid  in  Silver ,  would  not  oblige  Merchants  to  bring  it 
into  the  Country,  and  so  gradually  make  it  pass  among  us  ? 

I’ll  modestly  reply,  it  belongs  not  to  me  to  decide  this 
Case;  yet  Two  Difficulties  seem  to  attend  it. 

First,  Would  not  this  lesson  the  Value  of  Bills  if  the 
Publick  should  prefer  Silver  to  them  in  such  a  way? 

Secondly,  Is  not  this  directly  contrary  to  the  Tenor  of  the 
Bills  themselves  ?  That  says,  the  Bill  shall  be  in  Value  equal 
to  Money ,  and  shall  be  accordingly  accepted  by  the  Treasurer , 
&c.  and  in  all  Publick  Payments .  If  to  give  Currency  to  the 
Bill,  the  Government  have  made  it  Equal  to  Money  in  all 
Publick  Payments ;  nay  5  per  Cent,  better  in  such  Payments ; 
then  how  can  it  be  refused  in  any  Publick  Payment,  and 
Silver  be  preferred  to  it,  without  directly  contradicting  the 
Publick  Engagements,  which  alone  has  given  it  all  the  Value 
it  has?  If  therefore  we  would  make  no  infraction  on  the 
Bills ,  or  the  Establishment  they  are  on  ;  I  see  no  way  to 
raise  their  Value  and  Esteem  among  People,  but  by  less¬ 
ening  their  Quantity  and  calling  them  in  as  soon  as  fairly 
may  be.  And  tho’ the  doing  this  may  increase  our  Difficul- 


388  Colonial  Currency 

ties  in  some  regards,  yet  it  may  decrease  them  in  others.  I 
think  our  over  Trading,  Living  above  our  Abilities,  need- 
lesly  spending  Imported  Commodities,  and  doing  too  little 
to  supply  our  selves,  have  evidently,  tho’  gradually  brought 
these  Difficulties,  we  should  therefore  be  patient  (not  fretful 
and  quarrelsome)  under  them,  and  be  thankful  to  Divine 
Providence,  if  we  may  gradually  (tho’  with  many  an  hard 
rub)  get  rid  of  them,  and  not  Intail  them  as  a  mischief  and 
misery  on  Posterity. 

I  suppose  Money  is  now  as  Plenty  as  ever  in  the  World 
[20]  in  General,  and  daily  increases  rather  than  decreases ;  its 
now  as  much  esteemed  as  ever,  as  a  Medium  of  Trade.  And 
if  we  were  Prudent  and  Industrious  and  Frugal,  I  don’t  see 
but  that  we  might  have  our  share  in  it  (in  an  ordinary  course 
of  Providence)  as  well  as  formerly,  and  as  well  as  other 
Countries  who  have  no  Mines  but  receive  it  only  by  Com¬ 
merce.  Possibly  the  Ingenious  may  have  many  Schemes  and 
Projections ,  to  bring  and  keep  Money  in  the  Country,  but  I 
can  think  of  none  so  honest  and  likely,  as  to  make  our  Ex¬ 
port  exceed  our  Import,  which  by  Industry  and  Frugality 
(with  an  ordinary  blessing)  we  might  easily  do.  We  can’t  be 
so  Sanguine  as  to  think,  that  other  Countries  will  give  us 
Money  for  nothing ;  if  we  have  it  of  them,  it  must  be  by  way 
of  Exchange  for  some  Produce  of  our  Country,  or  the  Fruit 
of  our  Labour.  If  therefore  we  make  our  Export  exceed  our 
Import,  it  must  needs  bring  and  keep  Money  here,  and  I’m 
humbly  of  Opinion,  that  no  other  method  will  be  effectual  to 
do  it.  If  a  Private  Family,  besides  what  they  spend  of  their 
own  Produce  raise  Twenty  Pounds  worth  for  a  Market 
Yearly,  and  Yearly  Buy  Thirty  Pounds,  then  they’re  Ten 
Pounds  in  Debt  and  behind  hand.  But  if  of  the  Twenty  they 


Reprint  389 

Sell '  they  lay  out  but  half,  then  they’re  Ten  Pounds  before 
hand,  they  have  it  ready  to  serve  their  occasions.  And  if  the 
Province  in  general  would  do  thus  with  reference  to  other 
Countries,  would  it  not  bring  Money  here.  I  think  all  the 
Province  in  their  various  Capacities  should  endeavour  this; 
and  none  more  (with  Submission)  than  you  in  Boston . 

I  humbly  conceive,  your  case  as  loudly  calls  for  pity  and 
some  speedy  methods  of  redress,  as  the  Case  of  any  Town 
in  the  Province,  if  not  more.  Your  thriving  (humanely 
speaking)  depends  on  the  numerousness  of  your  People ; 
and  their  being  suitably  imployed.  But  don’t  your  numbers 
of  late  decrease  ?  has  not  the  low  esteem  of  Bills  so  raised 
the  price  of  necessaries,  That  Trade s-\2M\men  and  Labourers 
can  scarce  subsist.  Is  not  their  being  put  off  with  half 
Money ,  and  half  Goods ,  a  great  damage  to  them  ?  Besides 
this,  if  they’re  Diligent  and  receive  great  wages  (as  the 
hirer  thinks)  yet  that  wages  sufficeth  not  to  payment; 
Rates ,  to  buy  Wood ,  Food ,  C loathing,  &c.  Have  not  these 
difficulties  caused  many  of  your  Laborious  People  to  move 
out  of  your  Town  ?  and  if  these  difficulties  continue  and 
grow,  wont  they  drive  away  more  ?  And  do’s  not  this 
thining  of  your  Laborious  Lnhabitants ,  tend  to  hurt  and 
weaken  you  ?  If  your  Members  continue  to  decrease,  some 
of  your  wealthy  Men  may  rather  be  called  owners  of  Houses 
and  Shops,  than  Land-Lords,  for  they’l  scarce  have  Tenants 
to  hire  them,  or  if  they  have,  the  continued  high  price  for 
necessaries,  will  render  them  unable  to  pay  rent,  and  pos¬ 
sibly  make  them  a  Charge  to  the  Town  too.  If  this  be  not 
the  present  Aspect  of  the  present  Posture  of  Affairs,  then 
I’m  mistaken  in  my  guess. 

Therefore  I  think  Wisdom  and  Interest  should  move  you, 


3  90  Colonial  Currency 

to  endeavour  in  your  Station  as  far  as  fairly  may  be,  to  di¬ 
minish  the  quantity  and  thereby  raise  the  value,  of  Bills  of 
Credit,  that  so  a  reducing  the  price  of  necessaries  may  in¬ 
courage  your  industrious  Inhabitants  to  abide  with  you,  and 
draw  others  such  unto  you.  And  for  you  to  pitch  on  some 
proper  methods,  to  promote  Industry ,  &  Manufacture 
among  you,  that  so  your  People  (by  Gods  blessing)  may 
live  by  the  fruit  of  their  Labours,  to  me  seems  necessary  to 
prevent  your  farther  Diminution ,  and  to  prevent  your  Poor 
being  so  numerous ,  that  their  Neighbours  will  scarce  be  able 
to  Support  them,  but  rather  be  obliged  to  Sink  with  them ; 
I’ve  heard  that  you  in  Boston  are  very  charitable,  ready  to 
give  Alms,  and  I  believe  it;  Possibly  some  think,  if  good 
Part  of  what’s  thus  bestowed,  were  put  into  a  Stock  to  im- 
ploy  the  Poor,  it  might  be  better  for  your  Town.  You  lay 
up  Grain  in  Store  to  supply  your  Inhabitants,  I  suppose  it 
prudent  to  do  so,  But  if  your  Inhabitants  [22]  by  the  produce 
of  their  Labour,  can’t  pay  for  it,  it’s  but  a  sorrowful  Case 
still. 

You  may  think  on  two  things.  Would  not  the  settling 
of  a  Market  help  you  ?  are  there  not  many  needless  Re¬ 
tailers,  who  buy  up  Provisions  and  Sell  them  with  advance 
to  their  poorer  Neighbours?  Do  not  the  Poor  oppress  the 
Poor  in  this  ?  Is  there  no  remedy  for  this  ?  Would  not  a 
well  regulated  Market  help  you  greatly?  The  Scripture 
frequently  speaks  of  Markets  as  usual  in  former  times;  And 
I  suppose  the  Ancient  and  Populous  Cities  who  now  use 
them,  would  by  no  means  be  without  them. 

If  the  Licenses  to  Sell  Drink  among  you,  were  greatly 
diminished,  would  not  this  help  you  ?  If  I’m  not  greatly 
mis-inform’d  abundance  of  Cost  and  Time  is  needlessly 


Reprint  3  9 1 

spent  among  you  in  Drink,  and  even  by  the  Poor  that  can’t 
subsist  without  Alms. 

Obj.  Retailing  Drink  promotes  Trade .  A  ns.  It’s  the 
Redu7idance  and  Excess  of  it  that  I’m  against.  In  this  the 
Seller  spends  his  time,  without  raising  one  farthings  worth 
produce  for  Publick  Good,  and  the  buyer  spends  Time  and 
Cost  for  what  he  had  better  be  without.  This  is  double 
damage  to  the  Publick. 

If  you  should  now  ask,  whether  a  Law  to  make  Bills 
equal  to  Money  between  Man  and  Man,  and  to  make  them 
answer  Specialties  that  is  Bonds  for  Silver  &c.  would  not 
ease  our  Difficulties  and  bring  in  Silver  among  us. 

Reply .  I  own  my  self  unable  to  see  thro’  the  Propriety  of 
such  a  Law.  For  I  conceive  it  not  easie  if  possible  for 
humane  Laws  to  change  Mens  minds  about  things  ? 

Tho’  the  Law  allows  five  per  Cent .  advance  to  Bills  in 
Publick  payments ;  and  made  the  tender  of  them  for  pay¬ 
ment  ( Anno  Dom .  1712)  sufficient  to  stop  Execution,  I  say, 
notwithstanding  these  Acts  in  favour  of  the  Bills,  yet  Men 
don’t  esteem  them  as  Money,  but  will  give  (as  I  am  told, 
Twelve  Shillings  in  Bills  for  an  Ounce  [23]  of  Silver,  which 
Ounce  by  our  Law  is  but  a  small  matter  above  Seven 
Shillings;  A  Law  indeed  might  lay  restraints  and  threaten 
Penalties,  but  it  can’t  change  Men’s  minds,  to  make  them 
think  a  piece  of  Paper  is  a  piece  of  Money,  They’ll  not  readily 
believe  such  a  Transubstantiation,  if  Men  really  think  that 
Silver  is  more  for  their  profit  than  Bills,  I  don’t  see  how  a 
Law  to  make  them  equal  in  Trade,  can  universally  govern 
their  Practice  in  buying  and  selling  which  are  voluntary 
actions  ;  For  if  the  Law  should  threaten  a  Fine  to  him,  that 
would  ask  Twenty  Five  Shillings  in  Bills  for  Twenty 


392  Colonial  Currency 

Shillings  in  Silver,  yet  if  a  man  ask  me  whether  I’ll  sell 
such  a  Commodity  I  have ;  I  may  surely  ask  him  how  much 
he’ll  give  and  in  what.  And  if  he  offers  me  Twenty  Five 
Shillings  in  Bills,  I  may  refuse  it  if  I  please,  who  can  oblige 
me  to  Sell?  When  yet  if  he  offered  Twenty  Shillings  in 
Silver,  possibly  I  might  gladly  receive  it. 

I  readily  grant,  that  a  Law  to  make  Bills  and  Money 
equal  in  Trade,  might  probably  make  some  alteration  in 
practice  ;  but  as  to  the  Expedience  of  such  a  Law,  I  hesitate, 
and  submit  it  to  wiser  Judgments. 

As  to  the  other  part.  viz.  To  make  Bills  to  answer 
Specialties,  I’m  at  present  not  able  to  see  thro’  the  fair¬ 
ness  and  honesty  of  it. 

English  Men  are  justly  Fond  of  Property  as  well  as 
Liberty.  If  I  have  Land  or  Goods  to  sell,  I  may  ask  a  price 
I  think  proper;  If  none  will  give  it,  I  keep  what’s  my  own. 
If  any  offer  to  buy,  I  may  ask  how  much  they’ll  give  and  in 
what  ?  if  they  offer  to  pay  me  in  Gold,  I  may  refuse  it,  if  I 
chuse  Silver  rather,  and  if  we  make  a  plain  honest  Bargain, 
the  buyer  is  obliged  to  pay  me  so  much  Silver  in  such  a 
time ;  surely  I  may  justly  claim  it,  when  the  Time’s  expired, 
if  he  neglects  to  pay  and  I  thereupon  sue  him,  would  not 
any  honest  Jurors  and  Judges  find  and  declare  for  the 
Plantiff  ?  In  matters  of  Meum  and  Tuum  as  they’re  called, 
I  think  the  common  rules  of  Justice  and  Equity  would  say; 
that  [24]  none  but  he  to  whom  the  Obligation  is  made,  can 
fairly  release  or  lessen  that  Obligation;  If  I  Sold  Land  a 
Year  ago,  and  the  Buyer  was  obliged  to  pay  me  so  much 
Silver  for  it,  at  the  Term  of  Two  Years;  and  a  Law  comes 
between  and  says,  I  shall  take  Bills  instead  of  Silver ,  am  not 
I  a  sufferer?  I  think  Laws  are  commonly  supposed  to  look 


393 


Reprint 

forward,  and  not  backward.  The  Law  in  Anno  Dorn.  1712. 
which  made  the  offer  of  Bills  for  payment  sufficient  to  stop 
Execution  for  Debts,  contracted  since  Oclob.  30.  1705.  yet 
did  it  on  this  foot,  as  appears  from  the  Preamble ,  viz.  That 
such  Debts  were  Generally  understood  to  be  contracted  for 
Bills.  And  so  that  Law,  justly  made  an  exception  for  Spe¬ 
cialties,  and  express  Contracts  in  Writing.  If  you  say,  But 
to  make  Bills  answer  Specialties ,  would  be  an  ease  to  many 
poor  Debtors.  Reply .  But  if  it’s  unjust  and  injurious  to 
Creditors  (whether  poor  or  rich)  who  dare  plead  for  it  ?  God 
himself  has  said,  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judgment, 
thou  shalt  not  respect  the  person  of  the  Poor  ;  nor  honour  the 
person  of  the  mighty .  Neither  shalt  thou  Countenance  a  poor 
man  in  his  cause .  Justice  and  Equity  should  be  preserved 
between  Debtor  and  Creditor;  whether  they’re  rich  or 
poor. 

If  you  say,  What  then  shall  those  do  who  are  obliged  by 
their  own  voluntary  Bonds  to  pay  Silver,  now  there’s  no  Silver 
passing?  Reply,  I  would  advice  such  Debtors  to  beg  for¬ 
bearance  in  their  Creditors,  and  say  to  them,  (submitting  to 
Providence,)  Have  patience  with  me  and  I  ’ll  pay  thee  all ; 
and  let  them  honestly  and  industriously  indeavour  to  do  so. 
And  I  would  advise  Creditors  to  avoid  extremities,  vigour, 
not  needlesly  take  their  Brother  by  the  Throat ;  nor  gladly 
catch  at  an  advantage,  to  squeeze  from  a  Debtor,  twice  so 
much  in  value,  merely  because  he  can’t  get  Money.  What¬ 
ever  advantage  we  may  happen  to  have  by  any  humane  Laws, 
yet  considered  as  Christians  viz  can’t  be  exempted  from  that 
rule,  As  ye  would  that  Men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  also  to 
[25]  them  likewise',  we  should  rather  suffer  some  damage 
our  selves,  than  bring  a  very  great  one  on  our  Neighbours. 


394 


Colonial  Currency 

I  presume  that  as  Bills  decrease  in  quantity  they’ll  increase 
in  value,  and  gradually  before  they  are  all  in,  be  as  good  as 
Money .  Therefore  Industry ,  Honesty,  Frugality  in  him 
that’s  under  Bonds,  and  Patience  and  Forbearance  in  him 
that  hath  the  Obligation  (so  far  as  he  well  can)  seems  the  best 
way  to  prevent  very  great  wrong,  either  to  Debtor  ox  Creditor . 
This  advice  refers  especially  to  Honest  Industrious  Debtors, 
for  if  a  person  is  in  my  Debt,  and  yet  lives  idly,  extrava¬ 
gantly,  is  in  no  likely  way  to  pay  what  he  owes,  but  rather  to 
spend  and  waste  the  Substance  of  Creditors ,  then  what 
reason  is  there  I  should  forbear  him  ?  Why  should  I  suffer 
my  Substance  (gotten  by  honest  Industry)  to  be  wasted  in 
gratifying  his  Pride,  Idleness  or  Extravagance,  If  thro’  his 
Extravagance  he ’s  not  able  to  pay  Fifty  per  Cent  why  should 
I  suffer  him  to  go  on  till  he  can’t  pay  Twenty  Five  ?  I  pre¬ 
sume  many  are  now  convinced,  that  the  giving  too  much  and 
too  long  Credit  has  been  hurtful  both  to  the  Persons  trusting 
and  trusted,  and  ’twill  be  well  if  there  don’t  speedily  appear 
many  more  proofs  of  this. 

As  I  would  not  advise  any  Creditor  rigorously  to  take  the 
advantage  of  his  Debtor,  so  neither  would  I  advise  any  Friend 
of  mine,  if  he  were  rich  and  able,  to  hoard  up  Bills  of  Credit 
meerly  to  make  his  Neighbours  buy  them  with  Silver  at  legal 
weight,  to  pay  their  Taxes  with.  I  say  I  would  not  advise 
any  Friend  of  mine  to  hoard  up  Bills  tor  this  purpose,  lest  he 
should  get  that  Displeasure  from  Heaven  which  will  be  more 
bitter  to  him  than  all  his  gain  by  it,  on  Earth,  would  be 
sweet. 

[26]  Since  we  should  love  our  Neighbour  as  our  selves, 
how  can  we  receive  Bills  of  them  at  the  low  Value  they’re 


Reprint  395 

now  of ;  and  yet  lay  them  by  on  purpose  to  make  them  Pay 
us  near  twice  as  much  for  them  in  a  little  time  ?  I  desire  no 
such  Gain.  And  if  any  should  hoard  up  Bills,  thinking  in 
a  few  Years  to  be  paid  for  them  out  of  the  Treasury  in 
Silver ,  at  Legal  Weight,  they  may  possibly  find  themselves 
mistaken.  For  they  are  to  be  received  for  any  Stock  in  the 
Treasury,  and  if  the  Government  should  see  meet  as  Bills 
grow  few  and  scarce,  to  take  something  else  besides  Silver  for 
Rates ,  whether  Grain ,  Flax ,  Hemp ,  &c.  possibly  when 
Persons  come  to  have  their  Bills  paid  for,  they  may  be 
obliged  to  take  such  things  as  shall  then  be  in  the  Treasury. 
I  humbly  conceive  therefore,  it’s  most  fair,  honest  and 
neighbourly  to  keep  the  Bills  passing  in  Commerce ,  till 
they’re  gradually  called  in  and  burnt,  and  not  to  hoard  them 
up  from  any  Private  veiws  or  thirst  after  Self-Interest. 

» 

Thus  Sir,  out  of  true  Love  to  my  Country,  whose  Welfare 
r  I  heartily  wish  and  aim  at,  and  without  being  asked  by  any 
one,  or  designing  to  flatter  or  disgust  any  Person  or  Persons 
whatsoever,  I  have  once  more  open’d  my  Thoughts  to  you ; 
I  don’t  offer  them  with  an  imposing  air,  but  modestly  submit 
them  to  Censure.  If  upon  Scaning  what’s  offered,  you  see 
reason  to  fault  any  Sentiments  therein,  please  to  Ascribe  it 
to  the  want  of  more  Skill \  and  not  want  of  Good-Will ,  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  Publick  Welfare.  If  you  and  I  differ  in  Schemes 
and  Projections ,  yet  let  us  be  one  in  Love  and  Friendship  ; 
let  us  by  no  means  raise  or  cherish  Parties  or  Divisions 
(which  directly  tend  to  weaken  and  ruin  a  People)  but  bear¬ 
ing  with  different  Apprehensions  in  each  other;  let  us  be 
Friendly,  Neighbourly,  Peaceable,  Honest,  Frugal,  Industri¬ 
ous,  every  [27]  one  minding  our  own  Business ,  and  indeavour- 


396  Colonial  Currency 

ing  the  Welfare  of  the  whole ,  this  will  be  most  advantagious 
to  the  Whole  and  to  all  the  Parts  of  it. 

From  your  Friend  among  the  Oakes  and  Pines ,  April  14. 
1719. 


BOSTON:  Printed  by  S.  KNEELAND, 
for  B.  GRAY,  and  J.  EDWARDS,  at  their 
Shops,  on  the  North  and  South  side  of  the 
Town-House,  in  King-Street.  *  1719. 

NOTE  TO  “  AN  ADDITION  TO  THE  PRESENT  MELANCHOLY 

CIRCUMSTANCES,”  etc. 

This  pamphlet  is  linked  to  its  predecessor  not  only  by  its  title  but 
also  by  a  certain  air  of  patronizing  condescension  which  would  seem 
to  indicate  the  profession  of  its  author.  It  lacks  the  fulness  of  the 
other  in  the  suggestions  as  to  dress,  habits  of  life,  and  industries  of 
the  provincials,  but  is  more  methodical  in  its  treatment  of  the  special 
subject  which  commands  the  attention  of  the  author  than  either  of 
the  two  pamphlets  which  immediately  precede  it.  In  the  first,  re¬ 
lief  is  sought  in  more  bills  of  credit.  In  the  next,  this  method  of 
relief  is  decried,  and  the  colonists  are  besought  to  be  frugal  and  in¬ 
dustrious.  In  this  pamphlet,  the  author  devotes  himself  to  a  critical 
discussion  of  the  relation  of  labor  and  commerce  to  the  financial 
questions  which  disturb  the  province,  discusses  the  question  of  what 
constitutes  money,  and  analyzes  the  relation  of  bills  of  public  credit  to 
the  money  question.  He  earnestly  opposes  the  postponement  of 
the  periods  for  drawing  in  the  bills,  recommends  their  destruction  as 
they  come  in,  so  that  the  number  in  circulation  may  be  steadily 
diminished,  and  insists  that  this  will  cause  silver  to  rise. 

The  copy  of  the  pamphlet  and  the  facsimile  of  the  first  page  were 
obtained  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society.  The  leaves  measure  6-|-  by  3|  inches.1 

1  A  copy  of  the  pamphlet  is  to  be  found  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  It  ap¬ 
parently  belonged  to  Thomas  Foxcroft.  See  post,  p.  442,  note. 


{>'  a  j  t  (ASU - -</J  r  c  «.  g 


f*  . 

&<r 


rik. 


THE 


OF  THE 

To  i  of  B  of 


-  ,'V 


.1 


,  -  .*4  | 

8  I 

!l 

> f 


•-i 


fi 

_  H ‘ 
- 11" 

>  f^] 
.4^1 
1  •  ^ 


|g|§jji 


a 


a 


.....  «V| 

■  *  ‘  *? 

HI  if 


the  Town,  to  his  Friend  in  the  i 


WAS 


•‘f  *«*-*  .4&r  .%&(•'>  .*&£&&■■ 


j£*'  <■/■  •*  -y<  ’  «.  ■-■*—- 


Btftrefteti  H>tate 

OF  THE 

Town  of  BOSTON,  £fc?c. 
CONSIDERED. 

In  a  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  in 
the  Town,  to  his  Friend  in  the 
Countrey. 


Boflon ,  Printed  for  Nicholas  Boone ,  at  the  Sign 
of  the  Bible  in  Cornhill :  Benjamin  Gray ,  and  John 
Edwards ,  at  their  Shops  in  King-ftreet .  1720. 


398  Colonial  Currency 

M 

Sir, 

Since  you  seem  so  much  concerned  about  the  Dis¬ 
tresses  of  the  Land,  and  want  to  know  how  Boston 
fares  in  this  Day  of  Common  Calamity  ;  I  could  do 
no  less  than  gratifie  you,  by  giving  you  my  Tho’ts, 
though  I  know  the  Theam  will  be  as  unpleasant  to 
you  to  Read,  as  it  is  to  me  to  Write.  Truly  Sir,  This  which 
was  within  these  Ten  years,  one  of  the  most  Flourishing 
Towns  in  America ,  in  the  Opinion  of  all  Strangers  who 
came  among  us,  will  in  less  than  half  so  many  more  years  be 
the  most  miserable  Town  therein . 

The  Medium  of  Exchange,  the  only  thing  which  gives  life 
to  Business,  Employs  the  Poor,  Feeds  the  Hungry,  and 
Cloaths  the  Naked,  is  so  Exhausted ;  that  in  a  little  time  we 
shall  not  have  wherewith  to  Buy  our  Daily  Bread,  much  less 
to  pay  our  Debts  or  Taxes.  How  happy  are  you  in  the 
Countrey,  who  have  your  Milk  and  Honey  of  your  own,  while 
we  depend  on  the  ready  Penny  from  day  to  day ;  and  there 
are  so  few  Bills  Circulating  (for  Silver  there  is  not  a  Penny 
passing)  that  People  are  distressed  to  a  very  great  degree,  to 
get  Bills  to  procure  the  Necessaries  of  Life;  and  that  not  the 
Poor  only,  but  good  substantial  House-keepers,  who  have 
good  real  Estates  in  the  Place,  such  as  we  call  the  middling 
sort,  who  it  must  be  acknowledged  bear  the  greatest  part  of 
the  Burthen;  and  by  these  Taxes  support,  both  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  Ministry,  and  the  Poor. 

We  find  already  the  miserable  Effects  of  the  want  of  a 
Medium  in  these  Instances ;  besides  a  Torrent  of  other  mis¬ 
chiefs  breaking  in  upon  us,  viz 


Reprint  399 

The  vast  Number  of  Law  Suits  occasioned  thereby,  the 
Courts  are  open,  and  every  Term,  four  or  five  hundred  Writs 
(and  perhaps  more)  given  out  against  good  honest  House¬ 
keepers,  who  are  as  willing  to  pay  their  Debts  as  their  Credit¬ 
ors  would  be,  and  have  wherewith  to  Pay,  but  can‘t  Raise 
Money,  unless  they  will  Sell  their  Houses  at  half  Value, 
which  they  have  been  Working  hard  for,  it  may  be  these 
Twenty  years,  and  so  [2]  turn  their  Families  into  the 
Streets  ;  and  this  because  they  are  obliged  to  Work  for  half, 
nay,  some  for  two  thirds  Goods,  and  their  Creditors  will  take 
nothing  but  Money  ;  and  so  they  are  Squeezed  and  Oppress’d, 
to  Maintain  a  few  Lawyers,  and  other  Officers  of  the  Courts, 
who  grow  Rich  on  the  Ruins  of  their  Neighbours,  while  great 
part  of  the  Town  can  hardly  get  Bread  to  satisfie  Nature; 
Nay,  to  my  astonishment,  I  am  informed,  that  there  a  thou¬ 
sand  Writs  made  out  to  this  April  Court,  in  this  one  County, 
which  is  a  scandal  to  the  Land,  to  have  it  spoken.  And  then, 

I  am  perswaded  that  the  Charges  of  the  Courts  in  this 
County  is  Six  Thousand  Pounds  per  Annum ;  and  this  pays 
no  Debt,  but  is  a  dead  Loss  to  People,  and  brings  them 
farther  in  Debt,  and  makes  them  the  less  able  to  support 
either  Church  or  State. 

The  Law  which  was  made  about  Twenty  Months  since  to 
shorten  Credit,  happens  to  be  very  ill  timed;  and  could  the 
Government  have  foreseen  the  fatal  Consequences  which 
daily  attend  it,  I  am  perswaded  they  would  never  have  come 
into  it,  for  tho’  long  Credit  hath  hurt  us,  yet  this  Remedy  is 
worse  thenthe  disease.  For,  it  obliges  some  who  are  naturally 
inclined  to  be  favourable  to  their  Neighbours,  to  be  severer 
then  else  they  would  be  ;  and  others  who  are  of  a  more  Cruel 
disposition,  are  glad  of  such  an  oppurtunity  to  Oppress  them, 


400 


Colonial  Currency 

by  turning  their  Book-Debts  into  Bonds,  and  Exacting  In¬ 
terest,  that  the  whole  Land  are  turned  Usurers,  and  thus  In¬ 
iquity  is  Eventually  though  not  Designedly  Established  by 
a  Law ;  which  was  far  from  the  thoughts  of  them  that 
made  it,  for  if  the  People  complain  of  the  hardship,  their 
Creditors  plead  the  Law  for  their  Justification.  Some  have 
been  so  unmerciful,  I  have  been  Informed,  that  they  have 
demanded  their  Debtors,  to  anticipate  one  or  two  Years  In¬ 
terest  on  the  Condition  they  would  take  their  own  Bond 
without  other  Security,  such  a  piece  of  Oppression  surely  was 
never  Practiced  among  Turks  or  Infidels,  and  this  done  by 
Professors  to  the  scandal  of  the  Christian  name,  forgetting 
that  Precept  left  them  by  their  compassionate  Saviour.  Be 
ye  merciful \  even  as  your  Heavenly  Father  is  merciful.  I  am 
glad  that  Act  is  Temporary  :  &  tho‘  it  was  made  but  for  five 
Years,  I  fear  many  People  will  greatly  suffer  by  [3]  it,  for 
besides  the  Mischiefs  already  mentioned,  I  could  mention 
many  others. 

I  confess  to  me  the  Law  seems  inconsistent  with  Justice 
and  Mercy,  if  I  have  a  right  notion  of  either;  it  is  to  suit 
the  punishment  according  to  the  degree  of  Crime;  and  the 
Law  is  always  tender  of  the  Criminal,  not  to  Exceed  in  the 
Punishment.  We  are  commanded  to  put  on  Bowels  of  Com¬ 
passion  toward  our  Neighbour ,  and  while  I  do  so,  I  fulfil  the 
Law  of  Righteousness.  Will  any  then  say,  I  am  guilty  of  a 
Sin,  either  against  God  or  my  Neighbour,  in  Extending  my 
Compassion  and  Forbearance  to  him  ?  One  would  think  my 
own  Act  is  a  sufficient  punishment,  by  losing  the  Improve¬ 
ment  of  what  is  due  to  me ;  but  to  make  me  lose  my  Debt  for 
not  complying  with  that  Law,  is  to  punish  me  for  that  which 
is  no  Sin ;  for  the  Word  of  God  accounts  it  a  Vertue. 


401 


Reprint 

I  believe  by  this  Time  every  body’s  Belly  is  full  of  the 
Publick  Bank  which  was  Projected,  and  they  must  be  very 
short  sighted  surely,  who  did  not  foresee  the  wretched  Con¬ 
sequences  which  would  attend  it ;  There  will  be  more  than 
Threescore  Thousand  Pound  to  Pay,  and  nothing  to  pay  it 
with ;  for  the  Bills  come  in  for  the  Interest ;  how  then  shall 
the  Principal  be  paid !  This  is  putting  men  on  impossi- 
.  bilities,  and  in  a  worse  Condition  than  Israel  was  in  Egypt ; 
for  tho‘  their  Tale  of  Brick  was  Exacted,  without  supplying 
them  with  Straw,  yet  it  only  obliged  them  to  the  more  dili¬ 
gence  and  Industry  to  gather  it  themselves. 

We  are  told,  we  must  expect  no  more  Bills,  and  Silver  and 
Gold  is  become  Merchandize,  and  Bought  up  for  the  Fac¬ 
tors  as  fast  as  it  comes  in,  and  shipt  home  to  their  Principals  ; 

•  The  Governour,  Judges,  Ministers,  Schoolmasters  and  other 
Officers  must  be  paid  their  Salaries,  and  I  wish  their  Sala¬ 
ries  were  better  then  they  are,  if  I  could  see  how  posible 
they  should  be  paid,  but  I  see  plainly  by  and  by  it  will  be 
impossible.  The  Gentlemen  who  are  against  Emitting  more 
Bills,  think  we  have  Money  enough,  and  that  there  are  Two 
Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  out  in  all  the  Provinces;  A 
Wonderful  Cash  indeed  to  manage  the  Trade  of  the  four 
Goverments  in  which  are  more  then  Two  Hundred  Towns, 
and  that  [4]  going  into  the  Treasury  Daily,  that  in  a  few 
Years  they  will  be  all  sunk,  and  indeed  what  Bills  are  pass¬ 
ing,  are  mostly  of  the  other  Provinces,  our  own  Bills  are 
hoarded  up,  with  what  Noble  design  I  know  not,  but  it  gives 
Room  to  suspect  the  worst. 

It  is  the  Opinion  of  many,  that  within  these  Twenty 
Years,  near  a  Million  of  Gold  or  Silver  hath  been  exported 
hence,  &  I  believe  they  are  not  much  out  in  their  Computa- 

VOL.  I  —  26 


402 


Colonial  Currency 

tion,  yet  I  don’t  Remember  in  the  best  of  Times  I  ever  heard 
any  complain  that  we  abounded  with  Money,  &  now  we  are 
near  double  in  Number  and  our  Trade  greatly  Increased, 
and  consequently  it  calls  for  a  proportionable  Cash  to  manage 
it,  yet  some  Men  think,  or  at  least  say  we  have  Money 
enough. 

When  People  Complain  and  say  there  must  be  more  Bills 
emitted  on  one  foot  or  other ;  The  cry  is  No  ?  No  more 
Bills,  Silver  will  never  come  in  while  we  have  any  Bills, 
when  they  are  all  in  we  shal  have  Silver ;  but  I  observe, 
the  Gentlemen  who  talk  at  this  Rate  are  only  Usurers,  and 
Men  who  Live  on  their  Salaries,  Officers  of  the  Courts  and 
Lawyers,  who  never  Trade,  and  therefore  we  are  sure  no 
Silver  nor  any  thing  else  will  come  in  through  their  means; 
would  these  few  Gentlemen  (for  there  are  not  many  of  them) 
call  in  their  Bonds  and  enter  on  Trade  and  cast  their  Bread 
upon  the  Waters  with  their  Neighbours  to  employ  the  Poor, 
what  fine  Voyages  they  may  Project  to  bring  in  Gold  and 
Silver  I  know  not,  but  I  confess  it  is  past  my  shallow  capac¬ 
ity  to  Project  any  such,  I  believe  Men  never  Traded  with 
greater  uncertainties  then  at  this  Day,  no  Man  knows  where 
to  make  an  Adventure  to  see  a  new  Penny  for  an  old  one,  is 
the  common  Cry  of  the  best  Merchants  in  the  Place. 

It  is  not  sinking  the  Bills  of  Credit  will  bring  in  Silver,  No  ? 
I  rather  think  it  must  be  done  by  going  on  Manufacturs, 
and  so  lessening  our  Import,  &that  must  not  be  the  work  of 
a  Day  but  of  many  Years  to  accomplish  it,  and  those  things 
cannot  be  gone  upon  to  any  degree  without  Money  or  Bills, 
were  there  more  Bills,  there  are  enough  would  go  on  such 
Projects,  Iron  would  soon  become  cheaper,  and  Linnens  and 
Woolens  of  our  own  make  would  grow  more  in  use,  as  the 


Reprint  403 

Spiners  and  [5]  Weavers  improved  in  making  them,  but 
there  is  no  setting  up  such  Works  because  there  is  no 
Money  to  Pay  the  Labourer. 

That  which  hath  kept  this  Town  alive  the  last  Year  is  the 
Number  of  Ships  which  have  been  Built  in  it,  which  Employs 
great  part  of  the  Town,  I  wish  those  who  Build  them,  may 
find  their  Accompts  therein,  &  be  Encouraged  to  go  on,  it 
will  be  a  great  Mercy  to  us,  &  very  much  help  us,  but  that 
alone  will  not  do ;  There  must  be  something  to  Pass  from 
Man  to  Man  by  way  of  Exchange, ;  it  is  Vanity  to  talk  that 
such  a  Town  as  this  can  subsist  without  Money  or  some 
other  Medium  of  Exchange ;  You  may  as  soon  perswade  me 
that  People  can  live  without  Breathing,  as  without  something, 
to  purchase  their  daily  Food. 

Now  People  work  for  half,  &  some  for  two  thirds  Goods, 
and  so  have  a  little  Money  coming  in,  but  what  will  they  do 
when  it  comes  to  working  for  all  Goods,  Is  it  possible  for  Men 
to  Truck  for  a  Pound  of  Butter,  a  Pound  of  Candles,  or  a 
Loaf  of  Bread,  or  many  other  things  a  Family  is  Daily  in 
need  of.  No  ?  it  is  impossible. 

If  we  consider  the  Poor,  we  are  promised  a  Blessing,  and 
as  it  is  most  certainly  the  duty  of  every  Man,  according  to  his 
capacity  to  consider  them,  in  such  a  distressing  time  as  this ; 
when  good  Honest,  Industrius,  Modest  People,  are  driven  to 
such  streights,  as  to  Sell  their  Pewter  and  Brass  out  of  their 
Houses,  which  is  scarce  worse  for  wearing,  to  Brasiers,  at  the 
price  of  Old  Pewter  and  Brass  to  buy  them  food,  as  I  have 
been  Informed  by  the  Brasiers,  who  have  spoke  it  with  great 
concern  to  me.  Much  more  doth  Heaven  expect  it  from  the 
Government,  who  are  clothed  with  Power,  to  take  care  they 
are  not  Oppressed  or  distressed  ;  &  indeed  I  am  sorry  to  see 


404  Colonial  Currency 

the  Ministers  of  the  Town  so  silent,  when  (if  ever)  it  be¬ 
hoves  them  to  improve  all  their  Interest  in  the  Government, 
that  something  may  be  done  for  the  People  to  help  them  at 
such  a  time,  when  every  man  is  taking  his  Neighbour  by  the 
Throat ;  saying,  Pay  me  what  thou  owest  ?  If  they  will  bestir 
themselves,  perhaps  it  might  work  some  good  Effect. 

When  any  Gentlemen  propose  any  thing  to  Relieve  us,  as 
several  have  done,  one  Scheme  or  other  for  Emitting  Bills 
on  Land  Security.  I  observe  the  Gentlemen  who  explode 
these  Projections,  never  propose  any  other  [6]  which  makes 
People  say,  either  they  are  not  able  to  project  any  thing  bet¬ 
ter  ;  or  else  they  really  desire  nothing  may  be  done,  that  so 
they  may  advance  their  own  Estates,  and  Families,  by  get¬ 
ting  their  Neighbours  Lands  at  half  value  ;  but  if  any  are  so 
wicked,  I  am  perswaded  God  will  send  his  Blast  on  Estates 
so  gotten,  and  the  Labour  of  such  People  will  perish  ;  but  I 
would  hope,  that  men  who  profess  the  Name  of  Christ,  can¬ 
not  be  so  forgetful  of  that  Precept  he  hath  left  us  ;  To  do  by 
all  men ,  as  we  would  be  done  unto .  Most  certainly,  If  men 
oppose  making  more  Bills,  or  hoard  up  them  already  made, 
with  any  such  design,  they  are  Breakers  of  the  Tenth  Com¬ 
mandment  in  the  utmost  latitude,  and  come  but  little  short 
of  Ahab’s  Sin,  in  the  matter  of  Naboths  Vineyard. 

In  all  Places  it  is  observed,  that  Great  Men  alwayes  have 
their  Followers,  who  hang  on  their  Skirts ;  and  some  who 
have  no  thoughts  of  their  own,  make  the  Rich  and  Powerful 
their  Oracle ;  and  so  it  hath  been  among  us ;  but  these 
pinching  Times  I  find  cool  their  Courage,  and  make  them 
change  their  Note;  and  indeed  it  is  time  for  them  so  to  do. 
for  they  feel  the  Difficulties  as  much  as  their  Neighbours. 

His  Excellency  the  Governour  saith,  He  stands  ready  to 


405 


Reprint 

i 

► 

come  into  any  thing  which  may  be  thought  for  our  Relief,  and 
hath  Called  on  the  Gentlemen  of  his  Council ’  to  Project  some¬ 
thing  ;  who  indeed  are  more  immediately  Concerned  so  to  do, 
as  being  the  Eyes  of  the  People  ;  but  these  Worthy  Gentle¬ 
men  are  some  of  them  Men  out  of  Trade;  some  Country 
Gentlemen,  who  Live  on  their  Farms,  and  others,  men  of 
plentiful  Fortunes,  who  do  not  feel  the  Straits  of  the  Times, 
and  therefore  cannot  sympathize  so  feelingly  with  their 
Neighbours.  They  have  a  daily  Supply  of  Money  coming 
in,  either  for  Interest,  Salleries  or  Rents,  which  suffices 
for  their  Occasions  from  day  to  day;  and  tho‘  their  Coffers 
are  not  so  full  as  at  some  Times,  yet  they  are  not  in  want, 
and  plagued  as  others  are;  which  I  wish  his  Excellency 
would  consider,  and  not  be  perswaded  by  a  few  Gentlemen, 

*  That  Silver  will  come  in,  till  this  once  flourishing  place 
dwindle  away  to  nothing,  to  the  great  dishonour  of  his  Ex¬ 
cellency,  as  well  as  inseparable  Loss  and  damage  ot  the 
Crown. 

[7]  As  I  said  before,  our  Province  Bills  are  hoarded  up  and 
we  are  told  we  must  have  no  more  Emitted  ;  but  I  believe  the 
Government  will  find  it  absolutely  necessary  to  depart  from 
that  Resolution  ;  for  if  they  persist  in  it,  it  will  most  certainly 
perfect  our  Ruin ;  for  as  I  have  already  hinted,  it  is  not  Sink¬ 
ing  the  Bills  will  bring  in  Silver;  but  the  other  things  I  have 
mentioned,  and  others  which  might  be  projected,  to  lessen  our 
Import. 

Most  certainly  it  was  a  very  wrong  step  to  Crush  the 
Private  Bank,  and  set  up  this  Pulick  Bank  in  its  place, 
for  the  farther  we  go  on  in  this  way,  the  worse  our  Case 
will  be,  for  as  we  use  to  say,  Pay  Day  will  come,  but  when 
it  doth  come  there  will  be  nothing  wherewith  to  Pay. 


406  Colonial  Currency 

Whereas  the  Private  Bank  would  have  still  been  the  same, 
the  Intrest  Money  would  have  circulated  in  Trade,  and 
and  not  have  been  diminished ;  the  Stock  would  neither  have 
increased  nor  decreased,  but  remained  the  same  intire  Sum 
which  was  at  first  agreed  on,  without  any  Addition  or 
Diminution ;  and  I  wish  there  was  not  too  much  of  an 
Invidious  Spirit,  in  the  Opposition  that  Projection  meet  with 
from  some  Gentlemen  least  their  Neighbours  should  reap 
a  benefit  by  it  as  well  as  themselves. 

I  am  of  Opinion,  that  if  the  Government  would  come  into 
it,  to  Encourage  such  a  Bank,  and  strengthen  it  by  their 
Authority,  and  make  suitable  Laws  to  support  it,  that  it  is 
the  only  Remedy  which  can  be  proposed  to  extricate  us  out 
of  our  Difficulties,  it  would  not  be  attended  with  the  fatal 
Consequences  which  attended  the  Publick  Bank.  I  can 
think  of  nothing  so  likely  to  give  us  a  quick  Relief  by  set- 
ing  the  Wheels  a  going ;  Man  is  an  Active  Projecting 
Creature,  and  every  Body  almost  would  be  Improving  his 
talent,  if  Money  were  stiring,  but  the  wisest  Projections  must 
lye  still,  if  there  be  not  Money  to  go  on  with  them.  I  know 
[8]  the  Rich  will  oppose  this ;  but  the  Richest  Men  are  not 
always  most  beneficial  to  the  Commonwealth,  Men  of  Pro¬ 
jecting  Brains  do  most  good  to  their  Neighbours,  for  tho’ 
they  often  hurt  themselves  by  their  Projects,  yet  others  reap 
the  benefit  of  them,  and  so  the  Publick  is  not  hurt  but 
helped  by  them,  and  I  persume  none  will  deny  but  that 
this  Town  hath  been  more  advantaged  by  some  Men  now  in 
it  of  mean  Estates,  then  ever  they  were  by  the  Richest 
Men  in  it.  If  any  should  deny  it,  I‘ll  ven-  to  affirm  and 
prove  it. 


407 


Reprint 

But  if  the  Government  will  not  come  in  a  project  of  a 
Private  Bank,  I  can  think  of  nothing  better,  then  to  go  on 
some  great  &  Expensive  Work,  &  Emit  Bills  to  carry  it 
on,  as  Fortifyng  our  exposed  Setlements,  that  would  Encour¬ 
age  People  to  sit  down,  &  till  the  Earth,  and  raise  Hemp  and 
Flax,  and  so  bring  down  the  Prices  of  Linen  and  Canvas,  as 
well  as  Provisions,  that  we  may  be  able  to  Export  Provisions 
as  in  former  times  to  the  Islands,  wheras  we  are  now  behold¬ 
ing  to  our  Neighbours  to  supply  us,  this  would  help  to 
Ballance  our  Foreign  Trade,  and  consequently  in  time  be 
a  means  to  bring  Silver  among  us. 

If  there  was  a  Bridge  Built  over  Charles  River ,  If  Fifty 
Thousand  Pounds  were  expended  to  make  it  durable,  and  so 
a  moderate  Toll  laid  on  all  Carts,  Coaches,  Horses,  &c.  this 
would  help  us  by  imploying  the  Poor,  and  the  circulation  of 
the  Bills  would  be  a  great  service  to  every  Body :  and  other 
things  of  this  nature  might  be  thought  on. 

I  hope  our  good  Friends  in  the  Country  will  consider  our 
miserable  circumstances,  &  send  such  Men  to  Represent  them 
next  May ,  as  may  be  Spirited  [9]  for  our  Relief,  not  Sheriffs 
and  Lawyers,  who  are  the  only  Men  who  are  benefited  by 
the  straights  of  their  Neighbours,  else  I  fear  Ruin  and 
Destruction  will  come  upon  us,  and  truly  it  behoves  you  in 
the  Country  to  consider  this  Town  for  your  own  sakes,  shall 
the  Head  say  to  the  Members ,  we  have  no  need  of  thee ,  or  shall 
thee  Members  say  to  the  Head  in  like  manner,  as  in  the  Body 
Natural ;  so  it  is  also  with  the  Body  Politick  in  this  Respect, 
our  Interests  are  inseparable,  and  tho’  I  confess  you  can  do 
without  Money  better  then  we,  yet  our  want  of  Money  to 
Buy,  willvery  much  lower  the  Prices  of  all  your  Produce, 


40  8  Colonial  Currency 

and  your  Lands  will  soon  fall  in  Esteem  and  Value  accord¬ 
ingly  ;  and  this  the  Coasters  Experience  already  this  Spring  : 
they  are  obliged  to  trust  out  their  Provisions,  and  some  to 
Truck  them  away  for  such  things  as  they  know  not  what  to 
do  with  by  reason  there  is  not  Money  to  Buy  with. 

And  now  least  I  should  for  this  plain  Dealing  be  accounted 
an  enemy  to  the  Governour  or  present  Ministry.  To  justify 
my  self  I  solemly  Declare  as  in  the  presence  of  GOD,  who 
knows  my  sincerity;  that  I  Esteem  &  Honour  the  Gov¬ 
ernour,  and  every  Gentleman  of  his  Council,  with  whom  I 
have  acquaintance,  and  am  prejudiced  against  no  Man ;  It  is 
the  good  &  Happiness  of  my  Country  that  lies  upon  my  Spirits 
and  hath  Influenced  me  hereunto.  I  have  no  private  sinister 
aim  in  pursuit  separate  from  the  good  of  the  whole,  but  am 
animated  only  by  a  sense  of  the  distresses  of  the  Town  and 
Country,  for  want  of  a  Medium  of  Exchange. 

It  is  a  dark  Day  upon  us,  I  pray  GOD  to  Guide  and  Lead 
his  Excellency  and  his  Council,  and  others  concerned  in  the 
Government,  into  some  Measures  for  the  Relief  of  the  People, 
that  when  ever  his  [10]  Excellency  is  called  from  us,  he  may 
(as  I  am  perswaded  is  his  desire)  leave  us  in  better  cicum- 
stances  then  he  found  us,  which  will  endear  his  Memory  to 
us,  when  he  is  gone  from  us. 


FINIS 


NOTE  TO  “  THE  DISTRESSED  STATE  OF  THE  TOWN  OF 

BOSTON,”  etc. 

This  pamphlet,  which  was  written  by  John  Colman,  the  founder  of 
the  Land  Bank  in  1740,  bears  no  other  date  than  that  of  the  year, 


Note 


409 


1720,  which  is  on  the  title-page.  It  was  however  advertised  in  the 
News  Letter  of  April  11,  1720,  and  on  the  14th  of  April  the  follow¬ 
ing  appeared  among  the  advertisements  in  that  publication : 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston ,  upon 
Tuesday  the  12th  of  April ,  1720. 

HIS  Excellency  Communicating  to  the  Board  a  Pamphlet  lately 
Printed  and  Published  m  Boston,  Entituled ,  The  Distressed 
State  of  the  Town  of  Boston ,  & c  Considered  in  a  Letter  from  a 
Gentleman  in  the  Town  to  his  Friend  in  the  Country,  Upon  Reading 
the  same ,  The  Board  were  of  Opinion,  That  the  said  Pamphlet  contains 
in  it  many  Passages  Reflecting  upon  the  Acts  and  Laws  of  the 
Province ,  and  other  proceedings  of  the  Government ;  And  has  a 
tendency  to  disturb  the  Administration  of  the  Government ,  as  well  as 
the  Publick  Peace . 

And  thereupon  Voted  That  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  at  their 
General  Sessions  Enquire  after  the  Author  and  Publisher  of  the  said 
Pamphlet ,  and  proceed  therein  according  to  Law  and  Justice . 

Josiah  Willard  Seer. 

In  pursuance  of  this  vote  Colman  was  arrested.  He  gave  bonds, 
and  on  the  5th  of  July  his  recognizance  was  discharged. 

On  the  1 8th  of  April  there  appeared  in  the  News  Letter  a  lengthy 
reply  to  Colman’s  pamphlet.  There  is  good  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  Reverend  Edward  Wigglesworth  was  its  author.  Inasmuch  as  it 
was  referred  to  later  in  the  pamphlet  discussion,  it  is  desirable  that 
it  should  find  its  place  in  these  pages.  It  will  be  found  below  in  full. 

t 

The  Boston  News  Letter.  Number  836. 

April  18.  1720 

“  The  Country-Man’s  Answer,  to  a  Letter  Intituled,  The  Distressed 
State  of  the  Town  of  Boston  Considered. 

“  SIR, 

I  Received  your  Letter,  and  shall  draw  up  an  Answer  to  it  at 
large,  when  I  have  a  little  Leisure  from  my  Husbandry,' and  have 
inquired  into  the  Truth  of  matters  of  Fact ;  for  I  must  needs  tell 


410 


Colonial  Currency 

you,  we  have  a  great  many  Lyes  of  late  Years,  and  generally  about 
this  Season  of  the  Year  sent  up  from  Boston ,  and  with  great  Industry 
spread  among  us,  with  respect  to  the  State  and  Management  of  our 
Publick  Affairs  and  especially  a  New  Governour  being  expected ;  and 
therefore  you  must  Excuse  us  if  we  don’t  believe  every  thing  that 
you  send  to  us,  either  in  Writing  or  Messages. 

“  I  am  truly  sorry  for  your  distressing  and  threatning  Circum¬ 
stances  in  Boston ,  tho’  I  must  needs  say,  it  is  no  more  than  I  have 
for  some  time  been  afraid  of,  when  I  have  seen  your  sumptuous 
Buildings,  your  gallant  Furniture,  your  Costly  Clothing,  and  the 
profuseness  of  your  Tables,  and  the  great  and  scandalous  Expence 
at  Taverns,  besides  a  great  deal  of  other  Extravagance ;  I  have  been 
always  afraid  what  the  Consequence  of  these  things  would  be ;  and 
we  are  told  that  not  only  the  Government,  but  the  Ministers  of  your 
Town  have  with  all  Faithfulness  and  Seriousness  warned  you  hereof. 
We  think  it  very  strange  in  the  Country,  that  when  the  General 
Assembly  have  framed  Laws,  for  the  good  of  the  Community  and 
even  for  the  Ease  of  Debtors  to  prevent  their  Oppression,  that  any 
private  Person  should  Arraign  the  Wisdom  and  even  the  Justice  of 
the  Legislature ,  this  is  such  a  practice  as  never  was  attempted  before, 
and  we  suppose  will  not  be  countenanced. 

“  As  to  Silver  and  Gold  we  never  had  much  of  it  in  the  Country; 
but  we  can  very  well  remember,  that  before  we  had  Paper  Money, 
there  was  a  sufficiency  of  it  Currant  in  the  Country ;  and  as  the  Bills 
of  Credit,  came  in  and  multiplied,  the  Silver  ceased  and  was  gone ; 
and  of  all  Men,  you  in  Boston ,  especially  the  Merchants,  should  be 
Silent  as  to  hat  matter,  for  you  have  shipp’d  it  off,  and  yet  now 
complain  of  the  want  of  it. 

“  As  to  the  Publick  Loans  or  Bank  as  you  call  it,  all  the  World 
knows  that  the  General  Assembly,  especially  the  Country  part  had 
never  thought  of  or  consented  to  it,  had  it  not  been  upon  the  great 
Sollicitation  &  pressing  Importunity  of  the  Trading  part;  and  yet 
now  you  Arraign  their  Wisdom  and  even  their  Goodness,  this  must 
be  lookt  on  as  high  Ingratitude.  We  are  very  much  surprized,  you 
should  Rake  into  the  Ashes  of  the  Private  Bank  Projection,  that  has 
been  buried  so  many  Years ;  you  cannot  but  remember  that  not  only 


Note 


41 1 

the  General  Assembly,  upon  the  most  mature  deliberation,  solemnly 
protested  against  any  such  thing;  but  even  your  own  Town  of 
Boston ,  at  such  a  Meeting  as  we  understand  they  scarce  ever  had 
before,  by  a  great  Majority  utterly  refused  it.  It  is  too  large  a  Field 
to  enter  upon  in  a  short  Letter,  to  recite  the  endless  Mischiefs  and 
Confusion  that  Projection  would  have  involv’d  us  in;  and  we  and 
our  Posterity  shall  have  reason  to  be  thankful,  that  we  were  delivered 
from  it. 

“  As  to  your  Project  of  Building  of  Bridges,  Fortifications  and 
otherways  of  laying  out  Money,  one  would  not  think  by  this  Para¬ 
graph  of  your  Letter,  that  your  Circumstances  were  so  Distressing 
as  you  pretend  to. 

“  We  understand  the  Province  is  now  in  Debt,  /.  60000.  and  you 
would  have  it  run  /.  100000  more  in  Debt,  and  say  it  will  be  for  our 
Advantage. 

“  That  is  what  we  cannot  Comprehend,  It  should  seem  to  us  not 
•  only  just  to  pay  our  Debts ;  but  even  Wise  and  Prudent  for  the 
Country  to  clear  the  old  Score,  before  we  begin  a  new  one ;  and  I 
suppose  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  perswade  the  Government  into 
any  such  Projection :  If  the  Building  a  Bridge  to  Charlestown  be  of 
such  weighty  profit,  I  believe  the  Country  would  rather  private 
Persons  should  undertake,  and  run  the  Risque,  and  have  the  Bene¬ 
fits,  than  involve  the  Government  in  so  chargable  and  dangerous  a 
thing,  and  which  is  thought  by  some  Impracticable. 

“  Your  Advice  as  to  setting  up  and  encouraging  Manufactures  we 
very  much  approve  of ;  and  you  may  depend  upon  it,  we  in  the 
Country  shall,  with  the  Favour  of  GOD  raise  our  own  Provisions,  and 
wear  Clothing  of  our  own  making  as  far  as  possible  and  live  out  of  Debt. 

“  I  am  much  mistaken  if  His  Excellency  the  Governor  and  Council 
give  you  any  Thanks  for  those  few  Sugar  Plumbs  you  are  pleased  to 
sweeten  them  with,  when  you  so  much  affront  them  in  their  Publick 
Administration. 

“  As  to  your  Advice  about  the  choice  of  our  Representatives, 
which  seems  the  main  Spring  and  design  of  your  Letter,  we  shall 
endeavour  to  choose  Men  of  a  Publick  Spirit  that  understand  and 
design  the  good  of  the  Country  in  General,  Men  of  good  Substance 


412 


Colonial  Currency 

and  Interest  in  the  Country,  Men  well  affected  to  our  great  Master 
King  GEORGE ,  the  Religion,  Government  and  Liberties  of  New 
England ,  Men  that  will  take  care  to  ease  the  Debts  of  the  Province ; 
and  not  run  us  further  into  Debt,  Men  of  Virtue  and  Peaceable  Dis¬ 
positions  ;  and  we  earnestly  hope  your  People  in  Boston  will  make  the 
same  choice,  that  so  we  may  have  a  good  and  wise  Election,  and  a 
Peaceable  and  happy  Session,  and  the  General  Assembly  have  the  Di¬ 
vine  Conduct  and  Blessing  on  all  their  Arduous  Affairs ;  and  the  whole 
Country  be  under  the  Protection  and  Encouragement  they  Enjoy, 
leading  quiet  and  peaceable  Lives  in  all  Godliness  and  Honesty. 

And  I  am 
SIR 

Your  assured  Friend.” 

The  reference  to  the  vote  of  the  town  of  Boston  on  the  question  of 
the  private  bank  is  probably  to  the  proceedings  held  in  December, 
1715. 

On  the  7th  it  was  voted,  “  That  a  Town  Meeting  be  appointed  to 
debate  and  declare  whether  they  are  for  a  Publick  or  a  Private  Bank.” 

On  the  1 2th  of  December,  the  free-holders  and  other  inhabitants 
of  Boston  duly  qualified  assembled  in  town  meeting  and  by  their 
vote  adjourned  to  assemble  at  the  brick  meeting-house  in  Cornhill  for 
the  conveniency  of  more  room  there,  and  accordingly  were  there  as¬ 
sembled.  The  record  of  this  meeting  goes  on  as  follows: 

“After  abl  two  hours  debate  in  order  to  know  the  minds  of  the 
Inhabitants,  whether  they  are  for  a  Publick  or  Private  Bank. 

“  It  being  put  to  Vote, whether  it  be  the  Oppinion  of  the  Inhabitants, 
that  it  is  best  for  the  Sd  Town  to  Endevor  that  a  Publick  Bank  be 
promoted.  Voted  in  the  Affirmative.” 

This  decision  was  taken  at  a  meeting  so  fully  attended  that  they 
were  obliged  to  adjourn  to  a  more  commodious  room  than  the  one  in 
which  they  originally  assembled,  and  the  result  was  obtained  after 
due  deliberation. 

John  Colman,  the  author  of  this  pamphlet,  has  already  appeared 
in  the  currency  discussion,  his  name  being  among  those  signed  to 


Note 


'4X3 


the  “  Vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit,”  etc.,  in  1714.  His  con¬ 
nection  with  the  pamphlet  now  under  consideration  is  disclosed 
through  the  publication  the  same  summer  of  a  second  tract  entitled 
“  The  Distressed  State  of  the  town  of  Boston  once  more  considered,” 
etc.,  the  authorship  of  which  was  acknowledged  to  be  by  John  Col- 
man.  The  notoriety  which  he  gained  in  currency  affairs  was  not 
founded  upon  these  pamphlets,  except  in  so  far  as  their  publication 
identified  him  with  the  theory  that  the  relief  from  the  evils  under 
which  the  province  was  suffering  was  to  be  found  in  a  private  bank  of 
emission.  Although  he  was  a  prominent  merchant  in  Boston,  this 
notoriety  ultimately  reached  a  point  far  above  anything  to  which  his 
local  social  and  political  position  would  have  entitled  him.  This  is 
to  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  he  was  the  leader  of  the  Land  Bank 
party  in  1740. 

It  will  be  seen  from  a  perusal  of  “  The  Distressed  State  of  the  town 
of  Boston,”  etc.,  that  Colman  had  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  evils 
,  resulting  from  the  fluctuating  amounts  of  the  currency  in  circulation, 
which  resulted  from  the  increase  through  loans  to  towns  or  counties, 
and  the  reduction  caused  by  the  payment  of  these  loans. 

When  his  economics  took  him  beyond  the  field  of  his  daily  life,  his 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  effects  of  a  paper  currency,  and  his  inex¬ 
perience  in  such  matters  proved  to  be  a  formidable  handicap,  and  he 
argued  that  if  the  circulating  medium  was  relieved  from  the  diminu¬ 
tions  caused  by  these  withdrawals,  the  trouble  would  cease.  These 
conditions  would  be  brought  about,  he  thought,  if  there  were  a 
private  bank  which  should  furnish  the  province  with  an  adequate 
currency.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  appreciated  the  fact  that 
through  the  influx  of  Rhode  Island  bills  there  was  notwithstanding 
the  withdrawals,  an  excess  of  the  circulating  medium. 

The  pamphlet  is  ten  pages  in  length  and  the  leaves  measure  6\  by 
3f  inches.  The  copy  and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were  origi¬ 
nally  procured  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society  for  “  Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc.1 

1  The  following  public  libraries  and  societies  each  possess  a  copy  of  this 
pamphlet:  The  Boston  Public  Library,  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  and  the  Library  of  Congress.  The  last  of 
these  belonged  to  Thomas  Foxcroft.  S eepost,  p.  442,  note. 


- 


7 he  Dijkeffed  State  of  the  Town  cj 


.  3.(4  r, 

C  l 


B  0  5 1 ' '0  ]\  -  p 1 1 ii t c-;  - v  ],. F n  a n  k  l i  n ,  far 

D,  hEuc-HMAN,  i  ,1(1  i«: ici  ar  his  Shop  over 
agairJi  th^  T?r?ck  Mrrtinc-Houfe.  Tjr.c, 


mw&wmtw.4 


«A 


.A/? 


•  Ai 


A  LETTER 

FROM 

One  in  the  Country  to  his 
Friend  in  Boston ,  con¬ 
taining  fome  Remarks 
upon  a  late  Pamphlet, 

Entituled, 

The  Diftr effect  State  of  the  Town  of 

Bofton,  &c . 


BOSTON :  Printed  by  J.  Franklin,  for 
D.  Henchman,  and  fold  at  his  Shop  over 
againft  the  Brick  Meeting- Houfe.  1720. 


416 


Colonial  Currency 

M 


SIR, 


THE  Papers  and  Pamphlets  you  lately  sent  me 
were  a  very  acceptable  Present,  for  which  I  return 
you  hearty  thanks.  We  that  live  more  than  half 
a  hundred  Miles  from  Boston,  are  apt  to  be  very 
fond  of  knowing  what’s  a  doing  among  you ; 
tho’  sometimes  after  we  know  it,  we  find  too  much  reason  to 
lament  it.  So  it  hath  happened  in  part  to  me.  The  pleas¬ 
ure  of  a  Letter  from  my  Friend,  and  of  learning  the  Remark¬ 
able  occurrences  of  the  Town  was  considerably  dampt  by 
the  concern  which  one  of  the  Pamphlets  gave  me.  I  mean 
that  Entitled,  The  Distressed  State  of  the  Town  of  Boston . 
Not  that  my  Personal  Interest  is  any  more  affected  by  the 
Notions  in  the  Pamphlet,  than  that  of  almost  any  ordinary 
man  in  the  Province.  My  Interest  either  doth  already,  or 
will  very  quickly  (as  you  well  know)  lye  chiefly  the  same  way 
with  the  Interest  of  the  Author  of  the  Pamphlet,  who  is  (I 
suppose)  one  of  them  that  cast  their  Bread  upon  the  Waters. 
But  my  trouble  proceeded  only  from  a  Sincere  Regard  to  the 
Publick  Welfare,  which  I  apprehend  the  Gentleman  hath 
utterly  mistaken,  &  even  the  true  Interest  of  his  own  Town 
too ;  &  yet  he  hath  set  his  Mistakes  (as  I  take  'em  to  be)  in 
so  plausible  alight,  as  will  be  very  likely  to  lead  many  others 
astray  with  him  ;  And  should  the  Government  and  Country 
fall  into  his  measures,  I  am  greatly  deceived  if  we  should 


41 7 


Reprint 

ever  see  good  Days  again,  so  long  as  such  measures  should  be 
pursued.  Besides,  the  Gentleman  hath  represented  things  in 
such  a  smart  and  moving  manner  as  [2]  (I  fear)  will  tend  much 
to  stir  &  irritate  men’s  Passions  and  revive  those  Heats  and 
Animosities,  which  have  done  us  too  much  mischief  already. 

However,  I  don’t  imagine  he  did  this  with  any  design  to 
disturb  the  publick  Peace.  I  suppose  these  things  lay  much 
upon  his  Spirits  ;  and  therefore  when  he  set  himself  to  writ¬ 
ing,  his  heart  (unobserved  by  him)  waxed  hot  within  him, 
and  that  naturally  and  almost  necessarily  enlivened  and 
sharpened  his  expression. 

As  to  your  desire  of  my  Thoughts  upon  the  subject,  the 
place  which  I  live  in  is  so  remote,  that  I  cannot  be  informed  of 
the  certain  truth  of  several  matters  of  Fact,  which  might  serve 
much  to  enlighten  and  direct  me ;  but  yet  I  am  perswaded 
from  the  Reasons  of  things,  that  (as  I  said  before)  the  Gen¬ 
tleman  is  utterly  mistaken  in  his  Notions  of  the  true  Interest 
of  his  Country.  However,  I  am  liable  to  mistakes  as  well  as 
he ;  I  must  leave  it  therefore  to  you,  and  with  any  to  whom 
you  shall  think  good  to  communicate  my  thoughts,  to  judge  of 
the  justness  of  them,  and  whether  my  Reasons  are  sufficient 
to  support  them. 

In  setting  down  my  thoughts,  I  shall  take  notice, 

1.  First ,  Of  some  ill  Uses  which  have  been  made  of  our 
Province  Bills,  and  some  unhappy  Consequences  of  making 
such  evil  uses  of  them.  And 

2.  Secondly ,  I  shall  make  some  Remarks  upon  the  most 
observable  Passages  in  the  Pamphlet  it’s  self. 

i.  First  then,  concerning  the  ill  Uses  which  have  been 
made  of  our  Province  Bills,  and  the  unhappy  Consequences 
of  such  uses. 

VOL.  I  —  27 


4i  8  Colonial  Currency 

When  the  Government  first  issued  out  our  Province  Bills, 
the  Trading  Part  of  the  Country  found  themselves  furnished 
with  a  New  Medium  of  Exchange ,  which  would  answer  the 
ends  of  Trade  well  enough  among  our  selves :  Upon  this 
they  quickly  improved  the  Advantage  put  into  their  hands 
to  import  foreign  Commodities  in  far  greater  quantities  than 
the  produce  of  the  Country  would  make  Returns  for ;  and 
therefore  they  soon  began  to  export  the  Silver  Mony  passing 
among  us  to  make  Returns  with  ;  which  Silver  they  bo.ught 
up  with  the  [3]  new  Medium  which  the  Government  had  put 
into  their  hands.  When  by  this  means  Silver  became  a  little 
scarce,  they  were  obliged  to  give  some  considerable  advance 
in  Province  Bills  to  purchase  it.  And  this  advance  became 
greater  still  and  greater  in  proportion  as  Silver  grew  more 
and  more  scarce.  Besides,  which  I  think  some  have  re¬ 
marked,  that  it  received  an  observable  Increase,  upon  the 
Postponing  the  Taxes,  and  the  Emissions  of  Loan  Mony 
once  and  again ;  so  that  it  was  lately  at  the  rate  of  about 
Twelve  Shillings  an  Ounce,  and  I  suppose  it  continues 
thereabouts  still. 

Now  Silver  having  for  this  Reason  been  reserved  for  divers 
Years  past  to  be  sold  for  Exportation,  by  this  means  Paper 
gradually  became  almost  the  only  Medium  of  Exchange  among 
our  selves  :  The  very  Counters  which  pass  among  us  for  Penies 
had  like  all  to  have  been  swept  away:  Many  of  the  Traders 
sometime  after  the  Emission  of  the  Loan  Mony  (as  I  remem¬ 
ber)  buying  them  at  considerable  Advance  in  Province  Bills 
to  send  away,  tho’  they  pass  but  for  halfpence  in  England ; 
so  vile  were  the  Province  Bills  in  the  Eyes  of  the  Men,  who 
now  cry,  they  shall  be  undone  if  they  have  not  more  of  them, 
that  they  would  lavish  them  away  at  the  rate  of  Twelve  Shi l- 


Reprint  4 1 9 

* 

lings  for  an  Ounce  of  Silver,  and  give  fourteen  Pence  (as  I 
think  I  have  been  told )  some  of  them  did  for  a  dozen  Counters , 
which  they  knew  would  go  but  for  halfpence  apiece  abroad! 
And  I  desire  to  know  whether  the  very  Men  who  turn  poor 
Labourers  and  Tradesmen  off  with  one  half  or  Two  Thirds 
Goods ,  cant  still  find  Province  Bills  enough  to  purchase  Sil¬ 
ver  at  the  rate  of  about  Twelve  Shillings  an  Ounce ,  whenever 
they  hear  of  any  to  be  sold ?  But  this  only  by  the  By  at  present. 

Now  as  the  Value  of  Paper  hath  gradually  sunk  in  com¬ 
parison  with  Silver ,  so  the  Merchants  have  advanced  upon 
their  Goods  in  some  proportion ,  and  so  the  Price  of  the  Couu - 
try  s  produce  hath  been  gradually  rising  also  ;  save  that  thro’ 
the  abundant  Blessing  of  God  upon  the  Husbandry  of  the 
Land  last  Year,  the  plenty  of  Provisions  hath  lowered  the 
Price  of  it  for  the  present ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  the  plenty, 
the  price  of  it  would  have  [4]  been  as  extravagant  and  the 
sale  as  quick  as  ever,  some  thing  of  the  same  nature  may 
be  said  of  our  Oyl,  which  partly  thro’  the  good  Success  of  our 
Whale-men  last  Winter,  but  more  especially  by  an  Accident 
(which  I  forbear  to  mention)  is  said  to  be  falling  too.  But 
as  for  other  things  which  have  not  met  with  some  such  acci¬ 
dental  alteration,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  their  price  continues 
as  high  as  ever. 

That  this  is  a  true  account  of  the  rising  of  all  Commodi¬ 
ties  and  Necessaries  of  Life  to  the  extravagant  price  they 
have  been  at  for  some  Years  past,  is  evident,  because  any 
man  might  all  along ,  and  may  still  with  Silver  Mony ,  at 
seventeen peny  weight ,  buy  almost  any  Commodity  or  Necessary, 
at  pretty  near  the  same  rate  he  might  before  our  Province 
Bills  were  first  issued  out .  I  say  almost  any  Commodity, 
&c.  and  at  pretty  near  the  same  rate,  &c .  because  I  am  sen- 


420 


Colonial  Currency 

sible  that  in  some  things,  at  some  times  there  hath  been  a 
difference  (especially  those  things  that  are  proper  to  be  Ex¬ 
ported  to  other  Countries,  as  Fish,  Oyl,  &c.)  for  which  there 
is  another  manifest  Reason  to  be  assigned,  and  that  is  this, 
That  the  Importation  of  foreign  Commodities  was  for  some 
Years  so  vast,  that  all  the  Silver  our  Merchants  could  pro¬ 
cure,  and  the  whole  Produce  of  the  Country  besides,  were 
not  sufficient  to  answer  for  it.  This  obliged  our  Merchants 
to  catch  greedily  at  any  thing  that  would  serve  to  make  Returns 
with ,  and  this  gave  the  Possessors  of  such  things  an  advantage 
to  raise  the  price  of  them ,  even  above  the  difference  which  there 
was  between  Paper  and  Silver . 

Thus  the  Trading  part  of  the  Country  making  an  ill  use 
of  the  advantage  which  the  Emission  of  Province  Bills  gave 
them,  by  importing  a  vast  quantity  of  needless  foreign  Com¬ 
modities,  have  in  the  first  place  found  themselves  necessitated 
to  buy  up,  and  send  off  all  our  Silver  and  Gold  to  the  perplex¬ 
ing  and  almost  ruining  the  whole  Country :  and  secondly 
because  These  and  the  whole  Produce  of  the  Country  to¬ 
gether  were  not  enough  to  make  Returns  with,  therefore 
they  have  catch ’d  eagerly  at  every  thing  fit  to  be  exported, 
and  by  doing  so  have  rais’d  the  price  of  such  things :  And 
this  they  have  [5]  done  to  their  own  Confusion,  for  now  the 
price  of  such  things  is  so  high  that  there  is  hardly  any  thing 
fit  to  be  exported,  that  will  turn  to  any  account  in  other 
Countries  ;  And  so  no  man  knows  where  to  make  an  Adven¬ 
ture,  to  see  a  new peny  for  an  old  one:  Not  because  there  is 
not  mony  enough  still  to  purchase  all  the  produce  of  the 
Country  fit  for  Exportation  (for  if  there  were  not,  and  so 
these  things  lay  upon  the  Producer’s  hands,  I  am  sure  they 
would  soon  be  cheap  enough)  but  because  we  value  our  Paper 


Reprint  42 1 

* 

mony  so  little,  and  prize  our  Country’s  produce  so  high,  that 
every  thing  costs  more  pence  here  among  our  selves,  than  it 
will  fetch  again  abroad  in  Foreign  Countries.  Now  whether 
Emitting  more  Bills  be  the  way  to  encrease  our  Value  for 
them,  or  to  lower  the  price  of  our  Country’s  Produce,  I 
leave  the  World  to  Judge. 

But  this  Mischief  of  sending  off  our  Silver  and  Gold,  and 
raising  the  Country’s  produce  to  such  an  extravagant  price, 
is  not  all,  for  before  the  Law  for  shortning  Credit,  the  Gentle¬ 
men  concerned  in  Trade  (to  clear  their  Warehouses  and 
Shops  of  Goods  the  faster  and  make  room  for  a  new  Store, 
and  Enliven  Trade)  were  very  fond  of  Trusting  out  great 
quantities  of  Goods,  with  almost  any  Body  that  would  take 
them,  And  I  doubt  the  same  humour  prevails  two  much  still. 
Now  we  simple  Country  People  being  mightily  pleas’d  with 
fine  things  far  fetcht  and  dear  bought  (so  long  as  we  could 
have  goods  without  paying  ready  mony  for  them)  made  no 
scruple,  many  of  us,  to  take  up  much  more  upon  trust,  than 
we  earnt  mony  to  pay  for,  hoping  that  a  plentiful  Crop  of 
Corn  or  some  other  Smile  of  Providence  would  enable  us  to 
pay  for  all,  one  time  or  other.  And  since,  when  we  have  been 
dunn’d  and  worried  by  our  Creditors,  we  have  cry’d  out  for 
more  mony  too.  Whereas  the  truth  of  the  Case  is,  if  there 
had  been  a  Million  of  Province  Bills  Emitted,  we  could  not 
have  paid  our  Debts,  unless  Mony  had  been  given  us,  or  we 
had  sold  or  Mortgaged  our  Lands  to  procure  it,  for  we  have 
had  nothing  to  spare,  which  was  worth  mony,  but  what 
we  have  had  and  may  still  have  mony  for  (unless  it  be  Pro¬ 
vision  just  at  this  time  [6]  by  reason  of  the  present  plenty  of 
it)  but  all  we  could  produce  hath  not  been  near  enough  to 
discharge  the  vast  Debts  we  had  foolishly  contracted. 


422  Colonial  Currency 

And  now  what  shall  be  done  in  such  unhappy  Circum¬ 
stances  ?  Why,  say  the  Traders,  Do  but  two  things  and  the 
Wheels  will  all  be  set  a  moving  again ,  and  every  Body  almost 
will  have  an  opportunity  to  improve  his  Talent, 

1.  First ,  Let  the  Act  for  Limitation  of  Credit  be  repealed. 
If  this  be  done,  Country  People  will  throng  our  Warehouses 
and  Shops  again,  and  take  as  much  on  trust  as  ever. 

And  then, 

2.  Secondly ,  Let  a  private  Bank  be  established.  This  all 
honest  well-meaning  People  will  go  and  Mortgage  their  Es¬ 
tates  to,  for  mony  to  pay  us  for  the  Goods  we  have  trusted 
them  with ;  We  shall  most  of  us  be  Bankers  our  selves,  and 
by  that  means  (first)  we  shall  have  mens  Estates  mortgaged 
to  us.  And  then  (in  the  next  place)  we  our  selves  shall  get 
the  very  mony  again  immediately  for  which  those  Estates 
were  mortgaged.  When  we  have  gotten  such  a  fine  sum  of 
mony,  we  shall  snatch  at  everything  fit  for  Exportation  more 
briskly  than  ever.  This  will  raise  the  price  of  such  things 
higher  than  it  hath  been  yet,  and  then  it  will  turn  to  but  little 
Account  to  send  them  elsewhere ;  and  so  we  shall  complain 
again,  that  no  man  knows  where  to  make  an  Adventure  to  see 
a  new peny  for  an  old  one :  Unless  (perhaps)  those  of  us  that 
are  Bankers,  should  have  our  Mouths  partly  stopt  with  for¬ 
feited  Mortgages,  and  the  rest  of  us  should  take  better  Care 
than  we  used  to  do,  to  trust  none  but  such  as  have  good  real 
Estates,  which  will  pay  for  all  at  last. 

I  would  not  be  understood  to  think,  that  the  Author  of 
the  Distressed  State ,  &c.  and  other  Gentlemen  in  Trade,  who 
wish  to  have  the  Limitation  Act  repealed  and  a  private  Bank 
established,  do  really  say,  or  so  much  as  think  within  them¬ 
selves,  that  all  the  above  mentioned  pernicious  consequences 


423 


Reprint 

would  follow  thereupon.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  imagine  so 
vile  a  thing  of  them.  My  opinion  is,  that  they  are  sensible 
that  such  a  Repeal  and  such  an  Establishment  would  give 
them  some  pre-[7]sent  Relief,  and  that  they  have  never  look’d 
thoroughly  into  the  Train  of  wretched  Consequences  which 
will  ensue. 

I  have  therefore  mentioned  these  things  only  as  Conse¬ 
quences  which  I  apprehend  will  unavoidably  follow  from  the 
natural  operation  of  things,  upon  the  Repeal  of  that  Act,  and 
the  setting  up  of  a  private  Bank,  whether  Men  are  sensible  of 
it  now  or  not.  But  I  believe  the  Consequences  will  appear 
genuine  to  every  disinterested  Person  (as  soon  as  ever  they 
are  suggested  to  him)  without  any  Argument  to  demonstrate 
them  to  be  so. 

2.  I  proceed  now  in  the  second  place,  to  make  some  Re¬ 
marks  upon  the  most  observable  Passages  of  the  Pamphlet 
it’s  self.  In  doing  which  I  shall  have  frequent  recourse  to 
the  Truths  already  advanced. 

Boston,  which  was  within  these  ten  Years  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  Towns  in  America ,  will  within  half  so  many  more 
years  be  the  most  miserable  Town ,  &c.  page  i .  The  flourish¬ 
ing  of  Boston  depends  upon  the  flourishing  of  its  Trade. 
The  Distressed  State  of  the  Trade  of  Boston ,  is  not  owing  to 
the  want  of  Province  Bills  wherewith  to  purchase  the  produce 
of  the  Country  to  be  exported  on  Adventures.  All  the  prod¬ 
uce  of  the  Country  is  now  bought  up,  and  most  of  it  at  an 
extravagant  price  too ;  and  all  the  Silver  and  Gold  besides  ; 
as  fast  as  it  comes  in,  by  our  Authors  own  Acknowledg¬ 
ment,  p.  3.  The  Difficulty  is  owing  therefore  to  the  high 
price  of  the  Country’s  produce,  that  it  won’t  turn  to  account 
to  send  it  elsewhere.  And  this  is  a  mischief  the  Merchants 


424  Colonial  Currency 

have  brought  upon  themselves  by  the  means  abovementioned; 
and  the  emitting  more  Bills  of  Credit  will  rather  encrease 
than  lessen  the  evil,  because  it  will  occasion  the  Value  of 
the  Bills  sinking  yet  lower,  and  the  produce  of  the  Country 
rising  higher  in  proportion. 

But  if  there  were  nothing  of  all  this,  yet  I  should  not  won¬ 
der  that  the  Trade  of  Boston  fails  now  considerably;  and  I 
believe  it  will  continue  to  do  so  (at  least  for  a  time)  more  and 
more.  For  this  I  think  I  can  give  two  good  reasons. 

[8]  I.  First ,  Several  other  Towns  in  this  and  the  neigh¬ 
bouring  Provinces,  which  during  the  late  French  War,  de¬ 
pended  chiefly  upon  Supplies  from  Boston ,  and  traded  them¬ 
selves  but  little,  and  some  not  at  all  to  foreign  Parts,  are  now 
getting  more  and  more  into  a  foreign  Trade,  to  the  supplying 
in  good  measure  not  of  themselves  only,  but  of  the  adjacent 
Country  also. 

2.  Secondly ,  The  extravagant  Price  foreign  Commodities 
have  been  at  for  some  years  past,  hath  put  Country  People 
lately  upon  making  more  for  themselves  and  buying  less 
from  abroad.  And  this  I  hope  they  will  continue  to  do  still 
more  &  more ;  for  which  reason  I  could  almost  wish,  that  the 
price  of  foreign  Goods  might  yet  continue  as  high  as  ever. 

The  Medium  of  Exchange  is  so  exhausted ,  that  in  a  little 
time  we  shall  not  have  wherewith  to  buy  our  daily  Bread ,  p.  1. 
Actions  speak  louder  than  Words,  and  with  more  truth  and 
certainty.  It  is  a  certain  Truth,  that  the  greater  want  men 
feel  of  anything,  the  more  they  value  it,  and  the  more  loath 
they  are  to  part  with  it.  Therefore  I  beg  you,  Sir,  to  inform 
me  whether  your  Merchants  can  still  find  Province  Bills  to 
lavish  away  at  the  rate  of  Twelve  Shillings  an  Ounce  for  Sil¬ 
ver,  whenever  they  can  hear  of  any  to  be  sold.  If  this  be  the 


425 


Reprint 

Case  (as  I  doubt  it  is,  for  our  Author  himself  confesses, 3. 
that  Silver  and  Gold  is  bought  up  yet,  as  fast  as  it  comes  in) 
then  ’tis  certain,  the  Merchants  have  Medium  enough  to 
carry  on  the  same  Trade  still,  which  hath  hurt  the  Country 
and  themselves  too  all  along,  by  exporting  not  only  all  the 
produce  of  the  Country  bought  at  an  extravagant  Price,  but 
also  all  the  Silver  and  Gold  they  can  get  besides,  in  order  to 
bring  in  a  needless  excessive  quantity  of  foreign  Commodi¬ 
ties,  or  to  pay  for  them  which  are  already  brought  in.  And 
whilst  this  Trade  is  driven,  ’tis  vain  to  look  for  better  Times. 
For  while  more  is  imported  from  other  Countries  and  con¬ 
sumed  among  us,  than  our  own  produce  alone  can  ballance, 
we  must  continue  growing  poorer  daily.  And  while  there 
are  so  many  Province  Bills  standing  out,  as  that  Merchants 
can  find  their  Interest  [9]  in  buying  Silver  with  them,  most 
things  will  unavoidably  continue  dear,  in  proportion  to  the 
difference  the  Merchants  make  between  Paper  and  Silver. 

And  indeed  if  Province  Bills  were  become  so  scarce,  that 
the  Merchants  cou’d  not  catch  at  the  produce  of  the  Coun¬ 
try  so  eagerly  as  to  hold  up  the  Extravagant  Price  of  it,  and 
so  had  no  occasion,  nor  indeed  possibility  of  sparing  them 
to  buy  Silver,  I  don’t  see  that  any  body  would  be  put  to 
much  greater  difficulties  than  they  are  now.  For  if  it  were 
once  come  to  this,  that  the  Merchants  cou’d  not  find  their 
interest  in  exchanging  Province  Bills  at  any  advance  for 
Silver,  then  our  Province  Bills  would  be  equally  prized,  and 
would  purchase  as  much  as  Silver  at  seventeen  peny  weight , 
as  indeed  they  ought;  And  so  the  price  of  all  things  would 
fall  in  proportion. 

Now  if  by  lowering  of  the  price  of  other  things,  Twenty 
Shillings  will  purchase  me  as  much  a  while  hence  as  Forty 


426  Colonial  Currency 

will  now,  then  when  such  time  comes,  I  shall  be  able  to 
shift  as  well  with  Twenty,  as  I  can  now  with  Forty.  So 
that  the  growing  Scarcity  of  our  Province  Bills,  seems  to  be 
the  only  means  to  raise  the  Value  of  them,  &  to  lessen  the 
price  of  the  Country’s  produce.  And  when  once  our  Bills  are 
valued  as  high  as  Silver,  then  the  Silver  and  Gold,  which 
our  Author  himself  ackowledges  comes  in,  will  be  sure  to 
stay  among  us ;  and  not  before.  Then  also  the  cheapness 
of  things  fit  to  be  exported,  would  soon  teach  our  Merchants 
where  to  make  Adventures  to  see  something  more  than  a 
new  peny  for  an  old  one. 

Next  comes  a  complaint  of  the  vast  number  of  Lawsuits ,  of 
Writs  out  against  honest  Housekeepers ,  who  cant  raise  mony 
to  pay  their  Debts ,  unless  they  will  sell  their  Houses  at  half 
value .  And  this  because  they  are  oblig'd  to  work  for  half  or 
two  thirds  Goods .  With  us  in  the  Country  Estates  are  near 
as  high  in  Value  as  ever.  No  man  hath  Houses  or  Lands 
to  sell,  but  what  may  have  Mony  for  them  if  he  be  reason¬ 
able  in  his  Demands.  If  Estates  are  sunk  near  half  the 
value  in  Boston,  I  desire  to  be  informed,  whether  Numbers 
of  Tradesmen  and  Labour-  [10]  ers  have  not  removed  thence 
into  the  country  within  these  few  Years?  And  whether  by 
this  means  Tenements  and  Houses  have  not  been  emptied 
of  their  Inhabitants?  If  this  be  the  case,  ’tis  no  wonder 
their  price  is  fallen ;  for  who  that  hath  a  House  to  live  in 
himself,  would  buy  one  (for  ought  he  knows)  to  stand 
empty?  Or  who  that  has  no  House  of  his  own,  would  give 
a  great  price  for  one,  when  enough  others  stand  empty 
ready  to  receive  him  for  an  easy  Rent? 

I  desire  also  to  be  informed  what  it  was  that  drove  these 
Labourers  and  Tradesmen  out  of  Boston?  Whether  it  was 


Reprint  427 

not  being  turn’d  off  with  half  Goods,  by  them  that  sav’d 
their  Bills  to  buy  Silver,  that  they  might  send  for  more 
Goods,  and  so  pay  their  Labourers  again  after  the  same 
manner?  If  this  be  so,  the  case  of  your  Labourers  is  much 
to  be  pitied,  and  they  would  consult  their  own  Interest  if 
more  of  them  would  remove  into  the  Country.  We  want 
their  Labour,  and  should  be  glad  to  give  them  their 
Wages.  We  can’t  make  the  improvement  of  our  Lands 
which  we  desire,  for  want  of  Labourers:  Labourers  think 
us  obliged  to  them,  if  they  will  work  for  us  at  almost  any 
rate. 

The  Law  which  was  made  about  Twenty  Months  since  to 
shorten  Credit ,  happened  to  be  very  ill  timed  &c.  I  also  am 
of  the  same  Opinion  but  for  a  very  different  reason ;  And  I 
will  add,  not  so  effectual  as  were  to  be  wished  neither,  I 
think  not  so  effectual '  because  so  long  a  time  as  two  Years 
was  allow’d  for  trusting ;  and  so  people  have  not  been  suf¬ 
ficiently  discouraged  from  running  needlessly  into  Debt. 
Whereas  had  the  time  been  limited  to  but  a  quarter  or  half  a 
Year,  far  the  greatest  part  of  the  Debts,  which  our  Author 
complains  men  are  now  arrested  for,  had  never  been  con¬ 
tracted.  And  I  think  it  was  ill  timed,  because  it  was  not 
made  many  Years  ago:  If  it  had,  and  had  been  made  so 
strict  as  to  have  utterly  prevented  trusting  one  another  in 
Trade,  I  am  sure  the  Silver  and  Gold  could  never  have  been 
swept  away,  nor  any  of  the  Calamities  we  are  now  groaning 
under  been  brought  upon  us.  For  it  is  easie  to  see,  that  if 
we  had  never  trusted  one  another,  the  worst  Husbands  [11] 
of  us  all  could  not  have  spent  more  than  we  earnt ;  for  when 
we  must  pay  ready  Mony  for  every  thing  we  buy,  we  can’t 
buy  more  than  we  earn  Mony  to  pay  for;  unless  we  borrow 


428  Colonial  Currency 

Mony  at  Interest  to  support  our  Extravagance;  a  thing 
which  but  few  would  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  have  done. 
Indeed  when  Debts  are  already  contracted,  Do  but  set  up  a 
Bank  to  borrow  of,  and  we  have  found  from  sad  experience 
already,  that  men  will  be  ready  enough  to  mortgage  their 
Estates  for  mony  to  pay  their  Debts.  But  (I  say  again) 
where  Debts  were  not  before  contracted,  few  men  would 
have  been  so  foolish,  as  to  borrow  Mony  at  Interest  to  pro¬ 
vide  needless  Fineries  and  Gew-Gaws  for  their  Families. 
The  Folly  of  so  few  could  not  have  affected  the  Country. 
Now  as  none  of  us  could  have  spent  more  than  we  earnt, 
had  we  not  trusted  one  another,  so  doubtless  many  people 
in  the  Country  wou’d  have  been  so  prudent  as  not  to  spend 
so  much.  And  had  some  earnt  more  than  they  spent,  and 
none  been  in  a  capacity  to  spend  more  than  they  earnt,  I 
am  sure  the  Country  in  general  must  have  been  on  the 
thriving  hand :  It  could  not  have  consumed  so  much  in  for¬ 
eign  Commodities,  as  it  would  have  raised  of  it’s  own  Prod¬ 
uce.  The  Exportation  therefore  would  have  been  greater 
than  the  Importation  of  foreign  Commodities;  and  so  Silver 
and  Gold,  instead  of  being  exported  at  the  rate  it  hath 
been,  would  have  been  continually  coming  in  to  make  the 
Ballance. 

And  as,  if  we  had  never  fallen  into  the  way  of  Trusting, 
we  should  never  have  come  into  the  Difficulties  we  now 
labour  under,  so,  if  we  cou’d  all  agree  to  leave  it  quite  off, 
it  would  immediately  begin  to  turn  the  Scales  in  our  Favour : 
For  when  no  man  can  consume  more  than  the  yearly  product 
of  his  Husbandry,  Manufacture,  Fishery,  &c.  will  furnish  him 
with  mony  to  pay  for,  if  at  the  same  time  there  be  a  number 
of  People  who  wont  spend  all  their  yearly  produce  for  foreign 


429 


Reprint 

Commodities;  then  it  is  plain,  that  the  Yearly  produce  of 
the  Country  must  be  more  than  the  Consumption  of  it ;  and 
if  the  yearly  produce  of  the  Country  be  more  [12]  than  it’s 
Consumption,  then  there  will  be  yearly  a  Surplusage  of  the 
Produce  of  the  Country  to  be  exported.  For  this  overplus 
(part  of  our  Export)  it  will  be  to  no  purpose  to  bring  in  for¬ 
eign  Commodities,  because  the  Country  will  not  consume 
such  a  quantity :  Therefore  our  Merchants  must  have  their 
Returns  for  this  Surplusage  of  our  Produce  in  Gold  or  Sil¬ 
ver,  Immediately ,  unless  they  have  Debts  to  pay  first  in  for¬ 
eign  countries.  All  this  (I  think)  is  as  plain  and  certain  as 
a  Mathematical  Demonstration,  and  I  challenge  any  man  to 
confute  it.  I  don’t  therefore  see  need  of  any  other  Project. 
Do  but  wholly  leave  off  trusting,  this  alone  will  do  the  Busi¬ 
ness,  and  make  all  things  begin  to  go  well  quickly.  If  you 
object,  That  it  is  impracticable  to  contrive  a  Law  so  as  to 
put  an  utter  end  to  Trusting;  I  am  perswaded  that  is  a 
Mistake.  I  think  if  I  had  time  to  enter  upon  the  Argu¬ 
ment,  I  could  easily  tell  how  an  effectual  Stop  might  be  put 
to  trusting  by  a  Law,  in  such  a  natural  and  necessary  way, 
as  that  hardly  any  body  would  ever  come  to  suffer  the  Pen¬ 
alty  of  it*  and  then  certainly,  no  body  hath  any  reason  to 
fear  it. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  is  the  duty  of  Civil  Rulers  to  consult 
the  Welfare  of  the  Publick.  Our  Legislators  saw  the  Door, 
at  which  all  our  Calamities  have  broke  in  upon  us,  standing 
wide  open:  They  have  pusht  it  partly  to;  and  so  have  in 
some  measure  checkt  the  madness  of  the  People,  who  with¬ 
out  Fear  or  Wit  were  running  into  Debt,  to  their  own  Ruin, 
and  the  Ruin  of  them  that  trusted  them,  and  of  the  whole 
Country.  And  now  whether  what  our  Legislators  did,  was 


430  Colonial  Currency 

inconsistent  with  Justice  and  Mercy,  let  the  World  judge. 
I  am  only  sorry  that  the  Door  was  not  close  shut  and  barr’d. 
If  it  had  been  so,  we  shou’d  have  felt  the  comfortable  effects 
of  it  before  now.  There  would  have  been  no  opportunity 
for  the  Oppression  complained  of  p.  2.  And  the  Mercy  of 
the  Government  in  hindering  inconsiderate  People  from 
doing  themselves  harm,  would  have  prevented  the  need  of 
Private  Persons  extending  their  compassion  and  forbearance 
to  them  whom  they  had  dealt  much  more  kindly  with,  if  they 
had  refused  to  trust  them. 

[13]  I  shall  add  one  thing  more,  with  reference  to  the 
Limitation  of  Credit,  which  I  dont  remember  that  any  of  the 
Writers  about  our  present  difficulties  have  taken  any  notice 
of.  Nothing  is  more  certain,  than  that  a  Trade  may  be  gain¬ 
ful  (at  least  for  a  time)  to  Merchants,  which  yet  may  prove 
ruinous  to  their  Country.  It  is  said  the  Trade  with  France 
would  ruin  England  by  draining  it  of  its  Mony,  if  the  dan¬ 
gerous  Importations  from  Fra7ice  were  not  discouraged  by 
excessive  Duties  in  England ’  England,  being  a  Sovereign 
State,  may  secure  it’s  self  in  that  way ;  but  we  who  are  a 
poor  dependent  Province,  may  not  discourage  some  Impor¬ 
tations  which  we  may  think  injurious  to  us,  by  incumbering 
them  with  heavy  Duties.  The  only  way  we  have  to  secure 
our  selves,  is  to  put  an  end  to  Trusting,  or  to  allow  but  a 
very  short  time  for  it.  For  if  People  may  not  only  law  out 
all  the  Mony  they  earn  for  foreign  Goods,  but  may  also  run 
as  mnch  into  Debt  as  they  please  besides ;  and  if  they  are 
gotten  very  mnch  into  the  way  of  doing  so,  then  it  is  very 
likely  that  as  the  Merchants  have  already  carried  off  all  our 
Silver,  so  they  will  in  a  short  time  make  themselves  Mas¬ 
ters  of  most  of  our  Lands  also  for  Book  Debts.  Since 


Reprint  43 1 

we  have  lost  our  Silver,  it  concerns  us  to  look  well  to  our 
Lands. 

/  believe  by  this  time  every  Body's  Belly  is  full  of  the  Pub  lick 
Bank ,  &c.  I  wish  it  were  so ;  but  I  fear  this  is  not  the  case. 
I  know  no  good  that  it  hath  done  :  But  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
it  hath  prolong’d  our  Miseries,  divided  the  Country  into  Par¬ 
ties,  and  given  many  menan  Opportunity  to  involve  them¬ 
selves  worse  than  they  were  before. 

Many  of  the  Borrowers  of  the  Loan  Mony,  and  of  such  as 
have  a  mind  to  borrow,  are  become  so  vain^as  to  fancy, 
that  that  Mony  will  at  last  be  paid  by  the  Province,  or  else 
that  it  will  never  be  paid  at  all.  And  truly  I  can’t  tell  what 
might  be  done  of  that  nature,  if  Borrowers  should  generally 
have  the  doing  of  it.  However,  I  hope  I  shall  make  it  evi¬ 
dent,  that  it  is  every  Man’s  Interest,  who  is  not  a  Borrower 
to  consent  to  neither  of  these  Things. 

For  the  First,  I  am  sure  it  is  not  just  that  my  Estate 
should  be  taxed  to  help  pay  a  Debt  which  my  Neigh-  [14]  bour 
voluntarily,  and  it  may  be  needlessly  run  himself  into. 

As  for  the  Second,  the  not  paying  these  Bills  in  at  all,  This 
every  Man  that  hath  any  of  them  in  his  possession  is  con¬ 
cerned  to  look  to,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not.  And  for  this 
reason;  It  is  not  the  Governments  saying,  This  indented 
Bill  of  so  much,  shall  be  in  value  equal  to  Mony,  and  so  turn¬ 
ing  it  into  the  world,  which  really  gives  it  it’s  value  (as  some 
perhaps  fondly  imagine)  but  because  we  know  that  we  must 
all  pay  Taxes,  and  these  Bills  will  enable  us  to  pay  these 
Taxes  as  well  or  better  than  any  thing  else ;  therefore  it  is 
that  we  value  the  Bills  yearly  emitted,  for  defraying  the 
Charges  of  the  Government,  and  if  these  Taxes  had  never 
been  postponed,  the  demand  the  Bills  would  have  been  in 


432 


Colonial  Currency 

for  paying  Taxes,  would  have  made  us  esteem  them  at  an 
higher  rate  than  we  do  now. 

Again,  because  we  know  that  there  are  good  real  Estates 
laid  in  Pawn  for  all  the  Bills  emitted  by  way  of  Loan,  and 
because  we  know  that  within  a  certain  Term  of  Years,  if  we 
have  any  of  these  Bills  in  our  hands,  the  borrowers  must  cer¬ 
tainly  buy  them  of  us  at  their  full  value  to  redeem  their  Mort¬ 
gages:  Therefore  it  is  that  we  accept  the  Loan  Bills,  and 
esteem  them  as  Mony.  Now  if  this  be  the  truth  of  the 
Case,  then,  if  ever  it  should  be  enacted  that  these  Bills  should 
never  be  call’d  in,  they  would  at  once  lose  all  their  value, 
and  be  worth  no  more  to  them  that  have  them  in  their  keep¬ 
ing,  than  so  many  bits  of  Blank  Paper. 

Or  if  the  calling  in  of  these  Bills  should  be  deferred  be¬ 
yond  the  set  time,  it  will  make  men  doubt  whether  they  will 
ever  be  call’d  in  or  not,  and  so  their  value  will  sink  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  Jealousie  men  have  about  it,  which  will  like¬ 
wise  be  to  the  Loss  of  the  Possessors  of  them ;  so  that  it  is 
plainly  the  Interest  of  every  man  in  the  Province  that  is  not 
a  Borrower,  and  hath  any  of  these  Bills  in  his  keeping,  that 
they  should  be  called  in  precisely  at  the  time  appointed,  to 
redeem  the  Estates  that  are  laid  in  Pawn  for  them.  For 
nothing  else  but  this,  when  the  time  is  once  expired,  can 
make  [15]  them  as  good  as  Mony  to  those  in  whose  hands 
they  shall  be  at  that  time. 

There  will  be  more  than  Threescore  Thousand  Pounds  to 
pay ,  and  nothing  to  pay  it  with ;  for  the  Bills  come  in  for  the 
Interest:  How  then  shall  the  Principal  be  Paid?  This  is 
putting  men  on  impossibilities . 

This  is  all  a  great  mistake ;  and  yet  it  is  a  mistake  almost 
every  Man  I  meet  with  has  fallen  into,  and  is  concerned 


433 


Reprint 

about.  If  any  man  wou’d  clear  up  the  difficulty,  and  publish 
it  to  the  World,  it  would  tend  much  to  quiet  the  Minds  of 
the  People,  and  so  do  good  Service.  However,  I  cannot  but 
wonder  a  little  that  those  Gentlemen  who  are  not  able  to 
solve  the  difficulty  themselves,  shou’d  imagine  the  General 
Assembly  cou’d  all  be  so  much  in  the  dark  as  not  to  see  so 
very  obvious  and  Objection  as  this,  and  provide  against  it. 
Sir,  I  have  neither  Law-book  nor  Votes  of  the  House  by  me, 
and  therefore  I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  solve  the  Diffi¬ 
culty  so  clearly  as  otherwise  I  cou’d.  However,  I  remember 
that  the  Act  for  emitting  the  iooooo  /  Loan,  expressly  pro¬ 
vides,  That  the  Profits  (that  is  the  Interest )  be  applyed  for 
&  towards  the  support  of  the  Government ,  as  the  General 
Court  shall  from  time  to  time  direct .  Now  the  Interest  of 
the  Loan  Mony  is  but  5000  /  a  Year,  whereas,  the  General 
Court  (if  I  mistake  not)  hath  for  some  Years  past  granted  at 
least  10000  /  to  defray  the  Charges  of  the  Government;  now 
this  is  the  whole  Interest  of  the  Loan  Mony  and  as  much 
more  emitted  yearly.  If  it  be  objected,  that  when  10000/  is 
granted  yearly  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  there  is 
also  at  the  same  time  a  Tax  granted  to  his  Majesty  in  some 
Year  to  come,  for  calling  in  these  Bills  again.  I  answer,  that 
this  will  create  no  difficulty  to  the  Borrowers  of  the  Loan 
Mony  ;  because  these  yearly  Emissions  for  the  Support  of  the 
Government  must  continue  till  the  ten  Years  for  the  standing 
out  of  the  Loan  Money  are  expired :  And  the  Taxes  granted 
for  calling  in  these  Bills,  are  set  at  several  Years  distance 
(the  number  of  Years  I  dont  now  certainly  remember,)  so 
that  the  very  last  Year  of  the  Loan  Mony,  there  will  be  Bills 
enough  standing  out,  [16]  to  pay  not  only  the  Interest,  but 
also  the  whole  Principal. 

VOL.  I  —  28 


434 


Colonial  Currency 

But  there  is  another  answer  easier  to  be  understood  than 
this.  Some  years  ago,  the  Tax  for  bringing  in  our  Province 
Bills  was  Two  and  Twenty  Thousand  Pounds  a  Year.  At 
length  the  Government  thought  fit  to  ease  the  People  of  so 
great  a  Burthen,  and  so  reduced  the  Tax  to  but  Eleven 
Thousand  Pounds  a  Year,  and  Proposed  to  bring  in  the 
other  half  by  Impost,  Excise,  &c.  After  the  Emission  of  the 
Loan  Mony  the  Tax  was  again  reduced  (to  what  Sum  I 
don’t  now  remember)  and  the  Interest  of  the  Loan  Mony 
was  added  to  the  Impost  and  Excise,  to  help  make  up  the  Two 
and  Twenty  Thousand  Pounds,  which  should  have  been 
brought  in  by  the  Tax  alone.  So  that  every  Year  that  Five 
Thousand  Pounds  is  paid  as  Interest  of  the  Loan  Mony,  at  the 
same  time  Five  Thousand  Pounds  which  wou’d  otherwise 
have  been  brought  in  by  Tax,  is  left  standing  out.  And  there¬ 
fore  at  the  Ten  Years  end,  there  will  be  Fifty  Thousand 
Pounds  standing  out,  which  had  it  not  been  for  the  Interest 
of  the  Loan  Mony,  would  have  been  paid  in  by  that  time 
by  Tax.  And  this  the  Borrowers  of  the  Loan  Mony  will 
have  to  pay  that  part  of  their  Principal  with,  which  hath  been 
drawn  in  by  Interest. 

I  hope  this  comes  fully  up  to  the  Difficulty,  and  is  plain 
enough  for  any  Man  that  will  but  set  himself  a  thinking, 
to  understand ;  and  will  clear  the  Government  of  the  un¬ 
just  Imputation  of  being  worse  than  the  Egyptian  Task¬ 
masters. 

We  are  told  we  must  expect  no  more  Bills ,  and  Silver  and 
Gold  is  bought  up  for  the  Factors  as  fast  as  it  comes  in, 
and  Shipt  home ,  &c.  p .  3. 

And  so  it  always  will  be,  while  we  have  such  plenty  of 
Bills  that  the  Merchants  and  Factors  can  find  Advantage  in 


435 


Reprint 

doing  so.  But  I  should  think  it  prudence  for  the  men  who 
drive  this  Trade,  not  to  lisp  so  much  as  a  word  about  the 
miseries  of  poor  People  in  Boston.  I  believe  other  Folks 
will  think  of  these  miseries  often  enough,  and  of  the  true 
reason  of  them,  without  being  put  in  mind,  by  the  Men  that 
cause  them.  If  our  own  Merchants  are  not  guilty,  but 
they  are  the  Foreign  Factors  [17]  only  that  drive  this 
Trade,  let  not  our  own  Merchants  join  with  them  in  a  Cry  for 
more  Province  Bills,  and  make  the  miseries  of  poor  people  in 
Boston  a  Plea  for  it;  but  let  them  tell  the  World  the  plain 
Truth,  That  these  poor  People  are  paid  in  Goods  for  their 
Labour,  not  for  want  of  Province  Bills ,  but  because  Factors 
save  their  Province  Bills  to  buy  up  Silver  and  Gold ’  as  fast 
as  it  comes  in ,  that  they  may  ship  it  home  to  their  Principals , 
and  so  procure  more  Goods  to  pay  Labourers  and  Trades - 
men  with :  Let  them  tell  the  World ,  that  it  is  by  this  means 
that  Honest ,  Industrious  People  in  Boston  are  brought  to 
such  Extremities ,  as  to  sell  their  Pewter  and  Brass  to  buy 
Food, 

The  Gentlemen  who  are  against  emitting  more  Bills , 
think  we  have  Mony  enough;  that  there  are  two  hundred 
thousand  pounds  out  in  all  the  Provinces.  A  wonderful 
Cash  to  manage  the  Trade  of  the  four  Governments !  &c. 

P*  3# 

I  am  myself  at  present  in  no  Capacity  to  conjecture  the 
Sum  of  the  Bills  standing  out  in  the  four  Provinces ;  but  let 
it  be  what  it  will,  I  think  I  am  capable  of  proving,  that  there 
are  enough  of  them  to  carry  on  a  Trade  as  large,  as  it  is  for 
the  Interest  of  the  Provinces  to  have  carried  on.  And  I 
hope  I  shall  do  this  with  an  Argument  that  every  man  can 
understand.  There  are  Province  Bills  enough  to  buy  up,  at 


436  Colonial  Currency 

a  reasonable  rate,  all  that  can  be  spar’d  of  the  Product  of 
the  Husbandry,  Fishery,  &c.  of  the  whole  Country.  Let 
them  that  have  any  of  these  things  to  sell,  offer  them  but  at 
anything  near  the  rate  they  used  to  sell  them  for  some  Years 
ago  for  Silver,  and  I  am  certain  they  will  soon  find  Buyers, 
and  Mony  enough.  Nothing  will  ly  upon  their  hands,  ex¬ 
cept  there  be  something  not  fit  to  be  exported,  which  great 
plenty  hath  made  a  Drug  of. 

Now  if  there  be  Mony  enough  to  buy,  at  a  reasonable 
rate,  all  the  Produce  of  the  Country  that  can  be  spared, 
then  every  man  that  raises  any  thing  to  make  Mony  with, 
may  turn  it  into  Mony,  and  lay  out  all  that  Mony  with 
Traders  for  foreign  Commodities,  if  he  pleases.  So  that  it 
is  a  plain  Case,  that  we  have  Bills  enough  still  to  enable 
every  Man  in  the  Province  (if  they  were  all  minded  [18]  to 
be  so  much  of  Simpletons)  to  spend  all  that  he  can  earn  in 
the  Year,  on  Traders  for  foreign  Commodities.  And  what 
wou’d  the  Traders  have  more  ?  Must  Men  spend  more  than 
they  earn?  Must  publick  &  private  Banks  be  established, 
that  so  when  People  have  spent  all  they  have  earnt,  they 
may  know  where  to  go  and  borrow  more,  to  lay  out  for 
things  they  have  no  need  of?  And  must  the  Lands  of  the 
Country  groan  under  Taxes  and  Mortgages  to  uphold  these 
Fooleries?  All  this  must  be  done  forsooth!  Not  for  fear 
Trade  should  not  be  large  enough  still,  but  for  fear  it  should 
not  be  so  large  as  it  hath  been  for  many  Years  past,  to  the 
impoverishing  and  almost  ruining  the  Country.  I  have 
read  but  little  in  the  History  and  the  Customs  of  other 
Countries:  Pray,  Sir,  inform  me,  whether  the  Governments 
of  other  Countries,  use,  when  Traders  have  fool’d  away  all 
their  Silver  and  Gold,  to  be  so  very  careful  to  provide 


437 


Reprint 

another  Medium  for  them  to  play  the  Fool  with  again? 
I  am  apt  to  guess,  that  the  Care  in  such  Cases  hath 
commonly  been,  to  lay  Trade  under  such  Restraints,  as 
that  it  can’t  be  carried  on,  but  to  the  Advantage  of  its 
Country. 

Our  own  Bills  are  hoarded  up ,  with  what  noble  Design  I 
know  not ,  but  it  gives  room  to  suspect  the  worst ,  &c.  p.  4. 

This  Cry  I  have  observed  frequently  to  be  made  at  some 
convenient  Seasons;  but  why  Mony  should  be  hoarded  just 
at  such  Times,  or  why  men  should  hoard  Mony  now,  that 
have  not  always  made  it  their  Custom  to  do  so,  I  never 
could  well  imagine.  It  is  commonly  accounted  a  true  Say¬ 
ing,  that  Interest  will  not  lye\  therefore  I  can’t  think  that 
any  let  their  Mony  lye  by  them  unimproved,  in  hopes  of 
getting  their  N eighbours  Lands  at  half  Value ;  because  I 
see  no  likelihood  that  such  a  thing  will  ever  be  effected. 
When  once  our  Province  Bills  are  by  their  Scarcity  become 
equal  in  value  to  Silver,  If  the  Government  will  but  admit 
Taxes  to  be  paid,  and  Mortgages  to  be  redeemed  with  Sil¬ 
ver,  or  the  produce  of  the  Country,  those  that  have  hoarded 
up  Province  Bills,  will  be  glad  to  break  up  their  Hoards, 
and  get  rid  of  them  as  fast  as  they  can,  lest  they  should 
become  useless  to  them.  Indeed  if  any  Gentlemen  that 
employ  [19]  a  great  number  of  Labourers,  do  (at  some  Sea¬ 
sons  when  it  will  serve  a  Turn  to  have  a  Clamour  raised) 
turn  off  their  Workmen  with  two  thirds  instead  of  one  half 
Goods,  or  make  them  wait  a  great  while  for  their  Mony 
part,  and  tell  them  they  can’t  help  it,  the  Bills  are  hoarded, 
when  it  may  be  at  the  same  time  they  are  buying  Silver 
with  them;  (I  say  if  any  do  so)  it  is  plain  there  may  be  ad¬ 
vantage  in  it;  and  so  there  is  room  to  suspect  the  worst ; 


438  Colonial  Currency 

tho’  I  don’t  know  that  any  such  thing  as  this  hath  been 
practiced. 

The  Gentlemen  that  cry ,  no  more  Bills,  are  only  Usurers, 
and  men  who  live  on  Salaries,  Officers  of  the  Courts  and 
Lawyers,  &c.  p.  4.  I  will  add  all  understanding  Husband¬ 
men,  that  I  meet  with,  who  have  been  so  good  Husbands  as 
not  to  entangle  their  Estates. 

It  is  not  sinking  the  Bills  of  credit  that  will  bring  in  Sil¬ 
ver,  &c.  If  he  had  said  sinking  the  Credit  of  the  Bills  it 
had  been  very  just.  It  must  be  done  by  going  on  Manu¬ 
factures,  &c.  No  great  matters  will  or  ever  can  be  done  at 
Manufactures  while  Labour  is  so  dear;  and  Labour  will 
always  be  dear,  while  Bills  are  cheap.  Necessity  is  the 
Mother  of  Invention,  and  will  teach  men  more  Projects  as 
well  as  more  Industry  and  Good  Husbandry  than  the  Emis¬ 
sion  of  more  bills.  I  desire  to  be  informed  what  Project, 
what  Manufacture  hath  been  set  on  foot  to  any  purpose,  by 
the  50  and  100  Thousand  Pounds  lately  emitted?  The 
mony  hath  been  generally  Borrowed  (as  far  as  I  can  learn) 
to  pay  Debts  contracted  before,  by  virtue  of  long  Credit . 
And  if  an  hundred  Thousand  Pounds  more  were  emitted  it 
would  quickly  go  the  same  way. 

I  am  sorry  to  see  the  Ministers  of  the  Town  so  Silent  &c. 
p.  5.  If  any  of  these  Gentlemen  can  by  writing  set  the  true 
Interest  and  Duty  of  the  Country  (at  such  a  day  as  this)  in 
a  clear  light,  they  will  do  God  and  their  Country  excel¬ 
lent  Service:  but  I  hope  they  will  be  very  cautious  what 
they  deliver  in  the  name  of  God  from  the  Pulpit,  about 
these  matters  of  doubtful  Disputation  which  perplex  the 
Government. 

[20]  The  Gentlemen  who  oppose  the  Schemes  for  Emitting 


Reprint  439 

more  Bills  on  Land  Security  never  propose  any  other ,  &c. 

P*  5* 

No  Projects  will  serve  the  turn,  without  Industry,  Fru¬ 
gality  and  good  Husbandry.  Do  but  leave  off  Trusting,  or 
shorten  Credit  as  much  as  possible,  and  this  will  make  us 
all  Industrious,  Frugal,  and  Prudent,  whether  we  will  or 
not,  And  I  believe  in  the  way  we  are  now  in  nothing  else 
will. 

Most  certainly  it  was  a  very  wrong  step  to  crush  the  pri¬ 
vate  Bank ,  &c.  I  can’t  but  hope  that  it  will  still  be  crush’t. 
And  that  for  the  following  Reasons. 

1.  Because  such  an  Emission  of  Bills  will  keep  their 
Credit  always  low,  and  that  will  make  the  produce  of  the 
Country  porportionably  high,  that  it  wont  turn  to  Account 
to  send  it  elsewhere,  and  so  our  Merchants  will  always  be 
at  the  same  Loss  they  are  now,  where  to  make  Adventures. 
It  will  also  make  Labour  always  dear,  so  that  we  shall 
never  make  any  great  Improvement  in  Husbandry  or 
Manufactures.  And  at  this  rate  Silver  and  Gold  will  al¬ 
ways  be  one  of  the  best  things  that  we  can  make  Re¬ 
turns  with,  and  therefore  will  be  bought  up  and  Shipt  off 
as  fast  as  it  comes  in,  and  so  we  shall  never  get  through 
our  Difficulties. 

2.  Because  we  have  found  by  the  unhappy  Experience  of 
the  Publick  Bank,  that  if  there  be  but  a  Bank  to  run  and 
borrow  at,  the  Ill  Husbandry,  Vanity  and  Folly  of  the  Peo¬ 
ple  is  such ;  that  in  a  short  time  most  of  the  Estates  in 
the  Country  would  become  involved ;  and  I  think  it  much 
more  for  the  Strength,  Safety,  and  Interest  of  the  Country 
both  Civil  and  Religious,  that  the  Estates  should  continue  as 
at  present  in  many  mens  hands,  than  that  a  few  Gentlemen 


44°  Colonial  Currency 

should  be  Landlords,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Country  become 
Tenants. 

If  you  ask  me  why  these  Ill  consequences  will  follow  upon 
a  Bank  in  this  Country  rather  than  in  England  ?  I  answer, 
because  as  I  observ’d  before,  We  are  not  a  Sovereign  State. 
We  may  not  check  an  extravagant  Importation  and  Con¬ 
sumption  of  some  foreign  Commodities,  by  heavy  Duties. 
The  only  way  of  doing  this  is,  by  shortning  Credit,  so'  that 
People  may  not  be  able  [21]  to  consume  more  than  they 
earn :  And  by  not  suffering  a  Bank  for  People  to  run  to, 
and  undo  themselves  by  borrowing. 

3.  I  am  against  a  private  Bank,  because  that  when  the  Pro¬ 
vince  Bills  which  are  now  out,  shall  once  be  drawn  in,  all  the 
Cash  of  the  Country  will  then  be  at  the  direction  of  the 
Bankers.  And  it  is  easy  to  foresee  this  Consequence,  that 
whatever  Project  they  may  have  in  their  heads,  how  incon¬ 
sistent  soever  it  may  be  with  the  publick  Welfare,  they  wont 
want  means  to  bring  it  to  pass.  Nothing  will  be  restrained 
from  them. 

Fortifying  our  exposed  Settlements  wou'd  encourage  Peoplt 
to  Sit  down  and  till  the  Earth .  This  would  bring  down  the 
prices  of  Lmen,  Canvas ,  Provisions,  p.  8.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  on  the  contrary,  that  one  Reason  of  the  great  scarcity  of 
Provisions  we  have  been  afflicted  with  of  late  years,  was  that 
so  many  People  have  gone  into  new  Plantations  where  they 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  raise  their  own  provisions.  It 
would  conduce  more  to  the  bringing  down  Provisions,  to 
have  the  Land  already  taken  up,  better  Improved  by  more 
Labourers  upon  it,  than  to  have  new  unsubdu’d  Lands  en¬ 
ter’d  upon. 

But  if  our  Author  indeed  desires,  that  the  price  of  these 


44i 


Reprint 

things  should  be  brought  down,  why  does  he  tell  us  Country 
People  in  the  next  Page  that  the  want  of  mony  will  lower  the 
price  of  all  our  produce,  that  he  may  excite  us  also  to  joyn  with 
him  in  a  cry  for  more  Mony  ?  The  falling  of  our  Provisions 
will  enable  him  to  export  them  to  the  Islands  as  in  former 
times .  If  there  was  a  Bridge ,  &c.  The  Poor  who  want  Im- 
ployment,  wou’d  do  better  service,  to  disperse  themselves  in 
Country  and  till  the  Ground. 

I  hope  our  Friends  will  send  men  spirited  for  our  Relief, 
to  represent  them ,  &c.  I  hope  also  Men  of  a  Publick  Spirit, 
and  heartily  concerned  for  the  Welfare  of  their  Country,  will 
be  sent.  Not  Sheriffs  and  Lawyers  &c.  I  will  add,  not 
Men  in  difficult  Circumstances,  who  have  involved  themselves 
by  their  own  Indiscretion.  They  that  can’t  order  their  pri¬ 
vate  Affairs  with  Discretion,  will  make  but  poor  Managers  for 
the  Publick.  Besides  [22]  whatever  shall  be  proposed  for 
the  Publick  Good,  Men  in  a  needy  Condition  will  be  sure  to 
consider  it  in  the  first  place  how  it  will  affect  themselves, 
and  if  it  be  likely  to  increase  their  Straitness  and  Difficulty  a 
little,  (tho’  but  for  a  time)  they  had  need  be  Men  of  great 
Integrity  to  give  their  Consent  to  it. 

Thus,  Sir,  I  have  given  you  my  Thoughts  with  a  sincere 
aim  at  the  Good  of  my  Country ;  and  without  prejudice  or 
affection  to  any  Man,  or  Party  of  men.  If  you  think  they 
may  be  of  Publick  Service,  you  have  leave  to  make  them  as 
publick  as  you  please.  If  they  are  just,  no  man  hath  reason 
to  be  angry ;  If  they  are  Mistakes,  I  shall  be  heartily  sorry 
for  it.  If  the  Mistakes  are  dangerous,  I  hope  the  Gentlemen 
who  think  them  so,  will  be  so  just  to  their  Country  as  to 
warn  it  of  them. 

I  have  written  these  things  in  the  utmost  Hurry  imagin- 


442 


Colonial  Currency 

able,  for  fear  of  losing  the  Opportunity  to  convey  them.  If 
you  meet  with  any  thing  out  of  Place,  or  expressed  too  sharply 
or  too  obscurely,  impute  it  to  my  great  Hast,  which  wont 
allow  me  to  correct  and  alter. 

I  am,  &c. 

April  23,  1720 

FINIS. 


NOTE  TO  “A  LETTER  FROM  ONE  IN  THE  COUNTRY,”  etc. 

Sabin  in  his  “  Dictionary  of  books  relating  to  America,”  etc., 
attributed  this  pamphlet  to  “  E.  Wigglesworth.”  A  few  years  ago, 
while  looking  at  some  uncatalogued  pamphlets  in  the  Library  of  Con¬ 
gress,  Mr.  Worthington  C.  Ford  called  my  attention  to  six  pamphlets, 
all  treating  of  the  currency  question  in  the  period  under  discussion, 
and  all  marked  with  the  name  of  Thomas  Foxcroft,  evidently  the 
sign  of  ownership.  One  of  this  bunch  of  pamphlets  was  “  A  Letter 
from  one  in  the  country,”  etc.  It  bore  upon  the  title-page  the  signa¬ 
ture  “Tho.  Foxcroft”  and  the  memorandum  “g  Mr  Wigglesworth.” 
Elsewhere  this  comment  was  made  “  Probably  g  Mr.  Edw?  Wig.  &c. 
then  orchg  at  Barnstable.”  If  this  had  been  “  prchg,”  a  contraction 
for  preaching,  it  would  have  fitted  in  with  the  circumstances  perfectly. 
This  location  of  the  author  at  the  time  when  the  pamphlet  was 
written  would  agree  with  his  statement  made  at  the  beginning  of  the 
“  Letter,”  “We  that  live  more  than  half  a  hundred  miles  from  Bos¬ 
ton,”  etc.  If  this  be  accepted  as  designating  the  locality  of  the  resi¬ 
dence  of  the  author,  the  number  of  places  which  might  be  selected 
as  his  residence  at  the  time  is  limited,  and  of  these  Barnstable  is  one. 


Note 


443 


Thomas  Foxcroft,  A.M.,  the  supposed  owner  of  the  pamphlet  bear¬ 
ing  this  endorsement,  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  of  the  class 
of  1714.  He  was  a  Boston  clergyman,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
June  18,  1769,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age,  he  was  settled  over  the 
First  Church  of  Christ  in  Boston  as  colleague-pastor.  The  Rever¬ 
end  Charles  Chauncy,  D.D.,  the  surviving  pastor  of  that  church, 
just  after  Foxcroft’s  death  preached  an  obituary  sermon  which  was 
published.  To  this  was  appended  an  appreciative  eulogy  taken  from 
the  Massachusetts  Gazette  of  June  22,  1769.  Besides  the  six  pam¬ 
phlets  bearing  his  name  as  owner  which  have  been  referred  to,  there 
is  still  another  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  which  also  bears  his 
name.  The  Reverend  Edward  Wigglesworth,  the  reputed  author  of 
the  pamphlet,  was  also  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College.  He  re¬ 
ceived  his  A.B.  in  1710  and  in  due  course  his  A.M.  From  the 
University  of  Edinburgh  he  received  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  1730. 
He  was  a  fellow  of  the  college  from  1724  to  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1765.  He  was  the  first  Hollis  Professor  of  Divinity,  having  been 
elected  to  that  position  in  1722,  and  he  continuously  held  this  pro¬ 
fessorship  until  his  death.  He  was  for  many  years  a  commissioner 
of  the  London  Society  for  propagating  the  gospel  among  the  Indians. 
He  published  numerous  sermons  and  his  name  naturally  found 
place  in  Appletons’  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography  and  in 
Allibone’s  Dictionary  of  Authors,  although  the  contributions  which 
he  made  to  the  currency  discussion  were  not,  when  these  works  were 
published,  attributed  to  him.  In  1740,  the  overseers  of  Harvard 
College  voted  “  that  it  be  recommended  to  Dr.  Wigglesworth,  that, 
in  pursuing  his  course  of  divinity,  in  his  public  lectures,  he  be 
more  concise  in  the  several  subjects  he  treats  upon.”1  It  is  evident 
that  in  the  interval  between  the  publication  of  these  pamphlets 
and  the  date  of  this  vote,  Dr.  Wigglesworth’s  methods  had  not 
changed. 

The  name  of  Edward  Wigglesworth  is  not  associated  permanently 
with  that  of  any  pulpit  in  the  province,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  but  he 
appears  to  have  filled  various  pulpits  temporarily.  This  fact  is 
brought  out  in  the  funeral  sermon  preached  by  the  Reverend  Na- 

1  Quincy’s  History  of  Harvard  University,  Vol.  II,  p.  28. 


444 


% 


Colonial  Currency 

thaniel  Appleton.1  It  is  repeated  practically,  although  not  absolutely, 
in  a  communication  to  the  Boston  Evening  Post,  No.  1 533>  dated 
Cambridge,  January  19,  1765.  These  are  probably  the  authorities 
upon  which  rests  the  statement  to  the  same  effect  in  Sprague’s  Annals 
of  the  American  Pulpit,  Vol.  I,  p.  275.  It  may  be  inferred  from 
what  Eliot  says  in  his  Biographical  Dictionary,  but  the  statement  is 
not  directly  made  there. 

Wigglesworth’s  various  contributions  to  this  discussion  are  as  a 
rule  free  from  personal  references.  The  following,  however,  means 
nothing  if  it  was  not  aimed  directly  at  the  author  of  “  The  distressed 
state  of  the  town  of  Boston,”  etc.  The  writer  is  analyzing  the 
pamphlet  of  his  adversary,  paragraph  by  paragraph.  He  quotes, 
and  what  he  quotes  is  placed  in  italics,  while  his  comments  there¬ 
upon  are  in  Roman  letters :  “  I  hope  our  Friends  will  send  men 
Spirited  for  our  Relief  to  represent  them ,  &c.  I  hope  also  Men  of  a 
Publick  Spirit  and  heartily  concerned  for  the  Welfare  of  their 
Country,  will  be  Sent.  Not  Sheriffs  and  Lawyers  &c.  I  will  add,  not 
Men  in  difficult  Circumstances,  who  have  involved  themselves  by 
their  own  Indiscretion.  They  that  can’t  order  their  private  Affairs 
with  Discretion,  will  make  but  poor  Managers  for  the  Publick.”  It 
is  not  assuming  much  to  infer  from  this  that  Colman  had  had  his 
business  troubles. 

The  copy  of  this  pamphlet  and  the  facsimile  of  the  title-page  were 
originally  procured  for  “Tracts  relating  to  the  Currency,”  etc., 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,*2  and  certain 
defects  in  the  copy  were  supplied  through  the  courtesy  of  the 
Lenox  Library.  The  leaves  of  the  pamphlet  in  its  present  condition 
measure  6|  by  6f  inches. 

The  News  Letter  of  May  16,  1720,  contained  an  advertisement  of 
this  pamphlet. 

1  A  discourse  occasioned  by  the  much  lamented  death  of  the  Rev.  Edward 
Wigglesworth,  D.D.  By  Nathaniel  Appleton,  A.M.  Boston,  1765,  p.  33. 

2  Copies  of  the  pamphlet  may  also  be  found  in  the  Library  of  the  Massachu¬ 
setts  Historical  Society,  and  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 


M  Y  good  Neighbor?  Ruflicus  quilt  tir’d*- 
\  /I  of  the  Difireffed  Stare  from  V ill  to  Vi  If) 
V/  i  of  a  Country  Brief  for  the  Common  6; 
JL  ^  .A  puffing  to  my  door,  and  defired  me  to 
thoughts  upon  it :  In  compliance  with  hisrequeft.  - 
the  Pamphlet  in  his  Prefence,  and  a  very  fhort  pau 
hold  my  Sentiments  v  That  the  Diftrcffed  Author ,  o 
whoever  he  was.  To  my  apprehenfions  had  taken 
felf,  and  by  miftake  had  run  the  Towns  Cafe  Pa 
for  I  can’t  hut  obferve  in  the  true  Copies  of  his  fa 
always  for  his  accuracy  in  Cyphers,  he  had  wit- 
Krrors  mifcalculated  the  Number  ofLaw-Suits  \f' 
be  ^  That  if  one  Perfon  of  the  County  of  Suffolk”1^' 
well)  was  fire  times  Arretted  the  laft'Year  5  the; 
the  County,  Confiding  of  many  Thoufands, were  all 
often, 8c  fo  runs  out  his  Law-Charges^  the  amount  0 
a  miltake  he  might  have  eafily  reffify ’d  or  prevent* 
Clerks  Office. 


But  why  fo  angry  at  the  Law,  and  Lawyers,  if  tl 
be  juft,  as  he  cannot  but  kno’  many  of  them  to  be,  t/ 
or  the  other,  but  the  Follies,  Improvidences,  and  Shf 
who  have  reduc’d  and  expos’d  themfelves  to  fuch  Su) 


The  Law  (fays  he  )  which  Shortens  Credit  happens  ■' 
..id  theG  over  ament  have  forefee  n  the  fatal  Confs^ue.- 4 
•  k*  ;s  perf  beaded  they  faoula  never  have  come  into  it.  T. 
’  M  the  Government  beep  "endu’d  with  the  Wifdo; 
v  me-iight  of  the'Author  they  would  never,  — 

A 


- 


[1] 


THE  POSTSCRIPT. 

SIR, 

« •  •  J 

My  good  Neighbour  Rusticus  quite  tir’d  out  with  the  dis¬ 
persion  of  the  Distressed  State  from  Vill  to  Vill  (like  the  Cir¬ 
culation  of  a  Country  Brief  for  the  Common  Charity)  came 
at  last  puffing  to  my  door,  and  desired  me  to  Read,  and  give 
my  thoughts  upon  it :  In  compliance  with  his  request,  after 
having  run  over  the  Pamphlet  in  his  Presence,  and  a  very 
short  pause,  I  could  not  withhold  my  Sentiments ;  That  the 
Distressed  Author ;  of  the  Distressed  State  whoever  he  was, 
To  my  apprehensions  had  taken  the  Model  from  himself, 
and  by  mistake  had  run  the  Towns  Case  Paralel  with  his  own  ; 
for  I  can’t  but  observe  in  the  true  Copies  of  his  false  Epistle, 
allowing  always  for  his  accuracy  in  Cyphers,  he  had  without 
an  Exception  of  Errors  miscalculated  the  Number  of  Law- 
Suits  :  for  I  take  his  Rule  to  be ;  That  if  one  Person  of  the 
County  of  Suffolk  (whom  he  knows  very  well)  was  five  times 
Arrested  the  last  Year;  the  rest  of  the  People  of  the  County, 
Consisting  of  many  Thousands,  were  all  of  them  Arrested 
as  often,  &  so  runs  out  his  Law-Charges,  to  the  amount  of 
6000  l. per  Annum  ;  a  mistake  he  might  have  easily  rectify ’d 
or  prevented  by  a  step  to  the  Clerks  Office. 

But  why  so  angry  at  the  Law,  and  Lawyers,  if  the  Causes 
of  Action  be  just,  as  he  cannot  but  kno’  many  of  them  to  be, 
ther’s  no  fault,  in  one  or  the  other,  but  the  Follies,  Improvi- 


9 


446  Colonial  Currency 

dences,  and  Shuffles  of  the  Persons  who  have  reduc’d  and 
expos’d  themselves  to  such  Suits. 

The  Law  (says  he)  which  shortens  Credit  happens  to  be  ill 
tirnd,  and  could  the  Government  have  foreseen  the  fatal  Con¬ 
sequents  that  daily  attend  it ,  he  is perswaded  they  would  never 
have  come  into  it .  That  is  to  speak  Plain,  Had  the  Govern¬ 
ment  been  endu’d  with  the  Wisdom,  Penetration  and  Fore¬ 
sight  of  the  Author  they  would  never,  &c . 

[2]  But  being  tir’d  with  inveighing  against  Persons  and 
Things  in  his  Second  and  Third  Page,  he  misapplies  a  Text 
or  Two ;  And  whilst  his  eye  was  upon  the  Gospel,  ’tis  pity 
he  over-look’d  and  did  not  Read,  and  well  Consider,  the 
Apostolick  Canon,  To  be  subject  to  the  Higher  Powers ,  Not 
to  speak  evil  of  Dignities,  &c.  He  wou’d  not  then  have  tra¬ 
duc’d  the  Laws  and  Law-Makers. 

The  Authors  Notions  and  Schemes  in  Trade,  his  Projec¬ 
tions  and  fine  Pollicies,  are  so  ingenuously  answer’d  and 
confuted  by  the  Remarks  of  my  Friend  Agricola  in  his  Yes¬ 
terdays  Letter,  That  I  pass  over  to  the  Authors  4th  Page, 
where,  Contrary  to  his  Great  Genius,  and  avow’d  skill  in 
Legislation,  tho’  not  to  the  Truth,  He  Confesses  '  tis  past  his 
shallow  Capacity  to  project  fine  Voyages.  I  will  not  question 
but  Credit  the  Assertion,  from  his  own  experience. 

In  his  5th  Page  he  says,  Honest  People  are  driven  to  such 
Sir eights  as  to  Sell  their  Pewter  and  Brass  out  of  their  houses 
which  is  scarce  worse  for  wearing ,  to  Braizers  at  the  Price  of 
Old  Pewter  and  Brass  to  buy  them  Food ,  as  he  has  been  in¬ 
form'd ’  by  the  Braizers ,  who  spoke  it  with  great  CONCERN 
to  him .  And  I  do  desire  also  to  be  inform’d,  If  the  CON¬ 
CERN  of  his  whispering  Braizers  (whose  hearts  by  the 
truth  of  the  Story  seem  harder  than  the  Brass  they  work 


Reprint  44  7 

upon)  proceeded  from  the  Poverty  of  the  Seller,  or  their 
own  Extortion  in  taking  the  Poor  House-keepers  Goods  at 
half  Price. 

The  Author  after  having  made  bold  with  the  State,  Attacks 
the  Reverend  Ministers  of  the  Town,  and  indeed  is  Sorry  to 
see  them  so  silent  when  (if  ever)  it  behoves  them  to  improve 
all  their  Interest  in  the  Government ;  and  thus  whilst  he  needs 
Instruction,  I 'had  almost  said  Correction,  He  imperiously 
dictates  to  his  Superiours.  That  from  being  Messengers  of 
Peace,  it  behoves  them  to  be  Trumpeters  of  Riot  &  Sedi¬ 
tion  :  doubtless  as  he  is  Sorry  for  their  Silence,  they  cannot 
but  be  afflicted  at  his  Speech ;  for  I  am  told  he  has  so  be- 
stirr’d  himself,  (to  use  his  own  phrase)  That  when  discover’d 
he  will  be  had  (as  we  say  in  the  Country)  Coram  Nobis. 

[3]  After  having  invaded  what  he  takes  to  be  the  Office 
and  Duty  of  the  Clergy,  I  don’t  wonder  at  his  distribution  of 
the  Anathemas  or  Curses,  in  the  6th  Page  of  his  Book. 

The  Governourand  Council  no  doubt  well  understood  his 
Compliments,  tho’  made  with  hearty  Protestations  ;  he  seems 
alas !  to  be  a  little  aware  that  his  well  ment  Zeal  now  spent, 
had  carryed  him  a  little  too  far,  and  might  even  for  ought 
HE  knew  be  question’d ;  if  his  Book  has  out-run  his  intention, 
I  am  really  Sorry  for  him,  and  for  the  Mischiefs  and  ill  Con¬ 
sequences  his  Book  Eventually  tho ’  not  designedly  has  done : 
For  I  must  borrow  again  of  him  (to  be  paid  when  the  New 
Bills  come  out  *) . But  truly  if  Men  may  take 


*  In  the  Boston  News  Letter : 

London,  March  the  ioth.  By  a  Mail  from  France,  We  are  told,  That  the  People 
of  the  Country  who  supply  Paris  with  Provisions  receive  nothing  but  Paper 
Bills  instead  of  Species,  upon  which  Meat  is  risen  from  4  d.  to  20  d.  per  Pound, 
and  Bread  and  other  Provisions  proportionably. 


448  Colonial  Currency 

'upon  them  to  Censure  and  Expose  their  Superiours,  and  in¬ 
sinuate  into  the  Minds  of  the  People  distresses  and  dangers, 
and  be  allowed  to  vent  their  displeasure  at  such  Acts  and 
Proceedings  of  the  Government  as  do  not  suit  their  par¬ 
ticular  humours;  What  must  become  of  the  Credit  and 
Reputation  of  any  Government,  which  is  so  necessary  to 
preserve  it. 

I  will  say  no  more  but  Conclude  with  a  Request,  That  you 
would  please  to  leave  the  Answers  afcd  Remarks  of  Rusticus 
and  Agricola  at  every  Vill,  to  Condole  and  accompany  the 
Distressed  State, 

Your  ready  Friend, 

*  Deadham ,  1720. 


NOTE  TO  “THE  POSTSCRIPT” 

“  The  Postscript  ”  was  nominally  written  at  Dedham.  It  followed 
in  chronological  order  the  “  Letter  from  one  in  the  country  ”  which 
was  dated  April  23,  1720,  and  preceded  the  “Letter  from  a  gentle¬ 
man”  which  bore  date  May  16,  1720.  This  is  determined  not  from 
any  date  given  in  the  pamphlet  itself,  but  from  the  contents  of”  The 
Postscript  ”  and  the  ”  Letter  from  a  gentleman.” 

The  author  refers  to  two  previous  publications,  which  had  covered 
the  same  ground  that  he  undertakes  to  cover,  viz.,  the  refutation 
of  the  doctrines  of  Colman’s  “Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston,” 
etc.,  and  speaks  of  them  as  though  these  publications  had  been 
emitted  over  the  noms  de  plume  of  Rusticus  and  Agricola.  He 
concludes  his  pamphlet  with  a  request,  “  that  you  would  please  to 
leave  the  Answers  and  Remarks  of  Rusticus  and  Agricola  at  every 
Vill,  to  Condole  and  accompany  the  Distressed  State!1  Inasmuch  as 
there  are  no  other  replies  to  Colman’s  pamphlet  which  could  have 
been  left  at  ”  every  Vill  ”  as  antidotes  to  the  “  Distressed  State,”  ex¬ 
cept  the  ”  Countryman’s  Answer  ”  and  the  “  Letter  from  one  in  the 


Note 


449 


country  ”  “  containing  some  remarks,”  it  is  not  assuming  much  to 
infer  that  the  “  Answers  ”  of  “  Rusticus  ”  and  the  “  Remarks  ”  of 
“  Agricola  ”  may  be  identified  with  Wigglesworth’s  communication  to 
the  News  Letter  of  April  18  and  his  pamphlet  of  April  23,  the  same 
being  respectively  an  answer  and  some  remarks. 

Attention  was  called  in  the  note  to  the  latter  of  these  to  what 
seemed  to  be  an  insinuation  that  Colman  had  met  with  some  business 
misfortune.  The  author  of  “  The  Postscript”  says,  “  He  ”  —  that  is 
to  say,  the  author  of  the  “  Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston  ”  — 
“  Confesses  }tis past  his  shallow  Capacity  to  project  jine  Voyages ,”  and 
then  significantly  adds  :  “  I  will'  not  question  but  Credit  the  Asser¬ 
tion  from  his  own  experience.”  This  evidently  is  a  fling  at  Colman, 
based  upon  some  business  disaster  which  he  had  recently  experienced. 

The  fact  that  a  criminal  prosecution  was  instituted  against  Colman 
on  account  of  his  connection  with  the  “  Distressed  state  of  the  town 
of  Boston,”  has  already  been  stated.  The  author  of  “  The  Post¬ 
script  ”  asserts  that  when  the  author  of  the  “  Distressed  state  of  the 
town  of  Boston,”  etc.,  “  is  discover’d  he  will  be  had  (as  we  say  in  the 
Country)  Coram  Nobis.”  This  law  phrase  from  the  mouth  of  the  at¬ 
torney-general,  the  actual  author  of  this  publication,  meant  much 
more  than  it  seemed  to  mean  when  considered  as  a  mere  casual  ex¬ 
pression  in  an  anonymous  publication. 

The  copy  of  the  pamphlet  was  procured  through  the  courtesy  of  the 
Library  of  Congress.  A  better  facsimile  of  the  first  page  might  have 
been  obtained  there,  than  the  one  actually  procured  from  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Antiquarian  Society.  Unfortunately  the  copy  in  possession 
of  this  latter  Society  has  been  folded  back,  probably  for  convenience 
in  filing,  with  the  result  that  a  strip  has  become  detached  and  lost. 
The  pamphlet  is  very  seriously  injured  by  this  mutilation,  but  it  still 
retains  upon  the  first  page  the  words  “  By  Mr  Valentine  y*5”  ;  words 
fixing  the  authorship  and  by  their  presence  determining  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  this  injured  copy  for  the  facsimile  of  the  first  page.  The 
inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  of  the  leaf  that  are  lost  evidently  con¬ 
tained  some  words  descriptive  of  Mr.  Valentine’s  vocation  or  office, 
and  since  there  was  but  one  prominent  Valentine  in  the  province  at 
that  time  and  he  was  then  attorney-general,  we  may  assume  that 

VOL.  1  —  29 


450 


Colonial  Currency 

words  descriptive  of  this  office,  either  in  full  or  abbreviated,  furnished 
the  conclusion  of  the  above  sentence.  The  leaves  of  the  pamphlet 
measure  7i  by  5f  inches. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  name  of  Valentine  does  not  occur  in 
the  indexes  of  the  records  of  the  selectmen  of  Boston,  or  in  the 
indexes  of  the  town  records  of  that  period,  showing  that  there  were 
none  of  the  family  who  interested  themselves  in  the  slightest  degree 
in  town  affairs.1  There  are  very  few  Boston  men  of  prominence  of 
that  day,  of  whom  it  can  be  said  that  their  names  do  not  appear  in 
both  of  these  records.  Nevertheless  it  is  true  that  John  Valentine 
was  a  prominent  lawyer  in  his  time,  and  in  1720  he  was  attorney- 
general.  Judge  Sewall  comes  to  our  rescue  in  his  Diary  by  record¬ 
ing  on  the  28th  of  November,  1718,  that  “  Mr  Vallentine  our  new 
Attorney  Gen’l  Treated  his  Excellency  the  Govr,  Lieut.  Gov!,  and 
Judges  at  Super,”  and  on  the  5th  of  February,  1718,  19,  that  “  Mr 
Attorny  Vallentine”  appeared  before  the  council.  His  name  ap¬ 
pears  in  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Vol.  IX,  p.  694,  in  connection  with  a  memorial  for  services  as  at¬ 
torney-general.  Some  idea  of  his  ingenuity  in  framing  pleas  can  be 
obtained  from  the  notes  to  the  eighth  volume  of  the  “  Acts  and 
Resolves,”  in  which  a  number  of  cases  are  reported  in  which  he 
acted  as  counsel  on  one  side  or  the  other.  In  June,  1704,  John 
Quelch  with  a  number  of  others  was  tried  for  piracy.  It  was 
requisite  that  the  register  of  the  court  should  be  a  notary,  and 
as  Valentine  at  this  time  held  that  office,  he  was  sworn  as  register 
by  the  president  of  the  court  and  served  during  the  trial  of  the 
pirates.2 

He  was  married  to  Mary  Lynde,  a  member  of  a  well-known  Boston 
family.  On  Saturday,  February  the  first,  1723-24,  he  committed 
suicide.  Judge  Sewall  records  that  on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral 
“  Judge  Davenport  and  Col.  Fitch  were  invited  to  be  Bearers,  and 
came.  But  when  they  saw  Mr  Myles  refused  to  read  the  Office  of 
Burial,  they  ask’d  excuse  and  went  away.”  Other  bearers  were 

1  Valentine’s  name  appears  in  the  29th  report  of  the  Boston  Record  Com¬ 
missioners,  which  contains  miscellaneous  papers,  as  the  owner  of  a  house  on 
Marlborough  Street. 

2  Acts  and  Resolves,  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  391. 


Note 


4Si 

found  and  the  funeral  was  attended  by  many  people.  A  eulogistic 
notice  of  the  deceased  was  published  in  the  Boston  Gazette  and  in  the 
New  England  Courant,  and  the  same  was  inserted  in  the  News  Letter 
of  February  13,  on  payment,  according  to  Sewall,  of  one  angel  (ten 
shillings).  Whereupon  the  J udge  records  that  he  caused  to  be  printed, 
Dr.  Increase  Mather’s  sermon,  entitled  “  A  Call  to  the  Tempted.  A 
Sermon  on  the  horrid  Crime  of  Self-Murder,”  etc.1  Appreciative 
mention  of  Valentine  is  made  in  Washburn’s  “  Sketches  of  the  Judicial 
History  of  Massachusetts  ”  and  a  sketch  of  his  life  is  to  be  found  in 
“  The  Valentines  in  America.” 

Valentine’s  pamphlet  is  clearly  expressed  and  there  is  little  doubt 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  language  that  he  makes  use  of,  the  real 
difficulty  in  comprehending  why  its  publication  irritated  so  furi¬ 
ously  his  opponents  as  it  seemed  to  do,  may  perhaps  lie  concealed 
under  what  he  does  not  say.  It  will  be  observed  that  he  finishes  out 
two  or  three  sentences  with  dotted  lines,  the  reason  for  which  does 
not  suggest  itself  to  the  reader  to-day,  but  may  have  been  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  contemporaries.  “  For  I  must  borrow  again  of  him,” 

he  says  “  (to  be  paid  when  the  New  Bills  come  out) . ” 

and  here  he  adds  a  note  about  paper  money  in  France.  According 
to  Cotton  Mather,  the  bills  were  used  for  the  propagandism  of  doc¬ 
trine  of  some  sort,  perhaps  of  a  financial  character.  Mather’s  words, 
entered  under  date  of  December  28,  1721, 2  are  “  Or  Bills  of  Credit 
(which  are  all  ye  money  we  have)  circulate  into  Numberless  Hands. 
A  Vile  Sett  of  men,  have  contrived,  by  ye  wicked  use  of  their  pens 
on  the  Backs  of  the  Bills,  to  convey  poison  &  mischief  thro’  y* 
countrey.”  For  this  purpose  new  bills  alone  would  have  served. 
Those  which  were  in  circulation  soon  became  dirty,  and  were  thereby 
made  incapable  of  being  used  in  any  such  manner.  This  fact  alone 
connects  Cotton  Mather’s  curious  item  of  information  with  Valen¬ 
tine’s  pamphlet,  and  this  rather  as  showing  what  allusions  might  be 
hidden  under  a  blank,  than  as  an  attempt  to  apply  it  to  this  partic¬ 
ular  lacuna. 

1  Sewall’s  Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  330,  331. 

8  Diary  of  Cotton  Mather  in  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society. 


452  Colonial  Currency 

The  fact  that  the  “  Postscript  ”  is  dated  at  Dedham,  combined  with 
the  elimination  of  Valentine’s  name  from  the  Boston  records  of 
current  date,  might  raise  a  doubt  as  to  his  place  of  residence.  His 
will  is,  however,  to  be  found  in  the  Suffolk  files,  1724,  No.  4850,  and 
if  he  really  had  any  close  relations  with  Dedham,  he  did  not  leave 
sufficient  trace  for  a  search  to-day  to  reveal  it. 

The  following  is  the  obituary  notice  that  roused  Judge  Sewall’s 
indignation. 


The  BOSTON  News-Letter 
Feb.  13. 

BOSTON,  Feb.  13. 

On  Tuesday  the  4th  Instant,  The  Corps  of  John  Vallentine  Esq ; 
His  Majesty’s  Advocate  General  for  the  Provinces  of  the  Massachu¬ 
setts-Bay ,  New-Hampshire  and  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  was  here 
decently  Interred :  He  was  a  Gentleman  for  his  Knowledge  &  Integ¬ 
rity  most  Eminent  in  his  Profession,  Clear  in  his  Conceptions,  and 
Distinguishable  happy  in  his  Expressions.  It  pleased  GOD,  some 
short  time  before  his  Death  to  deprive  him  of  these  Excellent  En¬ 
dowments  by  afflicting  him  with  a  deep  Melancholy  which  brought 
on  the  Loss  of  his  Reason,  and  was  the  Cause  of  his  much  Lamented 
Death. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


A 

A.,  J.,  initials  of  the  printer  of  A 
model  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc.,  Lon¬ 
don,  1688,  153 

Abraham,  had  an  esteem  for  money, 
378 

Account  of  the  rise,  progress  and  con¬ 
sequences  of  the  two  late  schemes, 
etc.,  97 

Act  for  drawing  in  the  bills  of  credit, 
101 

Act  for  the  relief  of  and  to  prevent 
oppression  to  debtors,  95 

Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  196,  207, 
208,313,314,315,317,  450 

Adam,  a  slave,  150 

Addington,  Isaac,  Secretary  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  name  connected  with 
Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148,  149  \m 
called  Mr.  Secretary,  299 

Addition  to  the  present  melancholy 
circumstances  of  the  province,  etc., 
49 ;  reprint  of,  367-396  ;  note  on, 
396 

Agawam,  The  Cobbler  of,  114 

Agricola,  a  nom  de  plume,  446 

Ahab’s  sin,  404 

Allen,  John,  a  Boston  printer,  206 


Allibone,  Samuel  Austin,  his  Diction¬ 
ary  of  Authors,  443 
America,  85,  94,  153,  200,  204,  209, 
398,  423 

American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  104 

American  Antiquarian  Society,  262, 
292,  312,  333,  413,  449;  Proceed¬ 
ings,  6,  103,  104,  105,  1 18,  1 19,  147, 
187,  207 

American  Economic  Association,  85, 
102 

Amicus  Patriae,  a  nom  de  plume,  61 
Amsterdam,  Holland,  202 
Anchors,  manufacture  of,  referred  to, 
128,  130,  169,  226 

Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery 
Company,  Boston,  1 96, 3 1 3, 3 1 4, 3 1 6 ; 
History  of,  149,  151,  196,  208,  312, 
3U,  314,  315.  3i6 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  Governor  of 
New  England,  not  yet  arrived  in 
colony,  8;  his  connection  with  Sup¬ 
plement  to  model  for  erecting  a 
bank,  19,  20;  mentioned,  23,  148, 
149,  1 5 1,  238 
Andros  Tracts,  146 
Andros’s  Proclamation  Money,  105 
Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit 
(Sprague’s),  444 


Index 


456 

Anne,  Queen,  33,  246,  283,  304 
Apples,  368 
Appleton,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  preached 
funeral  sermon,  443,  444 
Appletons’  Cyclopaedia  of  American 
Biography,  148,  262,  443 

B 

B - 1,  F - 1,  signature  to  A  letter 

from  one  in  Boston,  292,  293 ;  Letter 
referred  to,  333 
Bahama  Islands,  147 
Bank  bill  of  credit,  form  of  bill  of  pro¬ 
posed  bank,  1714,  243.  See  also 
Bank  bills ;  Change  bill 
Bank  bills,  discussion  as  to  whether 
Fund  bills  were  bank  bills,  12; 
preferable  to  gold  and  silver,  13 ; 
expression  used,  381 
Bank  of  credit,  Winthrop’s  proposal, 
1663,  3;  one  said  to  have  been 
established,  1681,  6;  proposal  to 
organize,  Blackwell,  1686,  8;  de¬ 
nominations  of  bills,  14  ;  Model  of 
bank,  16;  public  or  private?  36; 
Projection  published,  40;  form  of 
bill,  41 ;  Objections  to,  41,  42;  Vin¬ 
dication  of,  44 ;  new  proposition  for 
bank,  1720,  50;  Colman  proposes 
Land  Bank,  1720,  56,  57;  must 
have  government  support,  58;  ad¬ 
vantages  of  private  bank,  65,  66; 
bank  of  issue,  deposit  and  discount 
proposed,  69;  Connecticut  Land 
Bank,  71;  Merchants’  notes,  74; 
New  Hampshire  notes,  77;  Read’s 
scheme,  84;  Fry’s  scheme,  85; 
mixed  public  and  private  bank,  86  ; 
Land  Bank,  1740,  86,  87,  88,  89; 
Silver  Bank,  87,  88,  89 ;  vote  of 


Boston,  whether  public  or  private, 
412 

Barley,  to  be  raised  to  make  drink, 

357 

Barnstable,  442 

Beds,  costly,  a  needless  importation, 

353 

Beef,  a  country  product,  167,  224,  368 ; 

paid  for  in  Spanish  coin,  351 
Beer-glasses,  could  be  made  here,  341 
Belcher,  Jonathan,  Governor  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  70,  74,  84,  94,  95,  365 
Bellomont,  Richard  Coote,  Earl  of, 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  316 
Bible,  Sign  of  the,  Boston,  397 
Bills  of  credit,  forms  of,  Projection 
1714,  243,  328 

Bills  of  public  credit,  fund  for  calling 
them  in,  31  ;  old  and  new  tenor 
notes,  79 ;  legal  tender,  80 ;  middle 
tenor,  three-fold  tenor,  80  ;  form  of, 
382 

Biographical  Dictionary  (Eliot’s),  444 
Blackwell,  Capt.  John,  drifted  to  Bos¬ 
ton,  9  ;  projector  of  scheme  for  bank 
of  credit,  10;  copy  of  Discourse 
in  his  handwriting,  13;  abandons 
scheme  for  a  bank,  16;  mentioned, 
20,  21,  26,  146,  147,  188,  206,  207 
Blackwell  Hall,  London,  129,  170,  227 
Blackwell’s  Bank,  8-12;  what  was  the 
date  of  ?  12;  proposal  considered  by 
committee,  12;  constitution  of  the 
bank  referred  to,  12  ;  scheme  aban¬ 
doned,  16;  prospectus  referred  to, 
238 

Blathwayt,  William,  309 

Body  of  Liberties,  208,  349 

Boone,  Nicholas,  a  Boston  publisher, 

397 

Boss-lopers,  200 


Index 


Boston,  I,  3,  4,  8,  9,  10,  II,  17,  19,  22, 
23,  26,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38,  41,  42, 

43»  44,  45,  5°,  5*,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56, 
60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69,  70,  74,  75, 

77, 78, 79, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 97, 99, 
100,  101, 1 1 7,  122,  147,  150,  205,  206, 
207,  209,  210,  238,  239,  243,253,  254, 
255,  260,  263,  284,  287,  293,  295,  298, 

301,305,  309,311,  3i3,3H,3i5,  3^6, 
319, 324,  328,  329,  330,  331,  333, 335, 
342,  343,  35i,  359,  36o,  363,  389,  390, 
396, 397,409,  4io,  411,412,  413,415, 
416, 423,  424,  426,  435,  442,  443,  444, 

449,  450,  452 

Boston  Athenaeum,  188,  195,  208,  238, 

292,  312,  333 

Boston  banks,  1681-1740,  etc.,  105 
Boston  Evening  Post,  444 
Boston  Gazette,  76,  451 
Boston  Neck,  284 

Boston  News  Letter,  39,  51,  52,  53, 
75,  262,  267,  293,  300,  301,  409,  444, 
447,  449,  45i,  452 

Boston  Public  Library,  188,  262,  292, 

333,  349,  365,  413,  444 
Boston  Record  Commissioners’  re¬ 
ports,  450 

Boston  records,  412 
Bottles,  could  be  made  here,  341 
Bradstreet,  Lucy  (Woodbridge),  1 19 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  Governor  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  1 1 9,  147,  207 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  son  of  Governor 
Simon,  1 19 

Brandy,  less  use  recommended,  48; 

too  much  imported,  354 
Brass  imported,  353 ;  people  driven 
to  sell,  403 

Brattle  Square  (or  Street)  Church, 
Boston,  313,  316 
Brattle,  Thomas,  317 


457 

Braziers,  purchase  pewter  and  brass, 
403 ;  sale  of  pewter  and  brass  ridi¬ 
culed,  446 

Brick  Meeting-house,  Boston,  415 
Brief  account  of  the  rise,  progress  and 
present  state  of  the  paper  currency, 
etc.,  99 

Brief  and  candid  reply  to  a  late 
printed  sheet  entituled  “  The  selling 
of  Joseph,”  150 
Bristol,  England,  150 
Bristol,  Massachusetts,  150 
British  nation,  378 

Broad-cloth,  fine,  a  needless  importa¬ 
tion,  353 

Brown,  John  Carter,  Library.  See 
John  Carter  Brown  Library 
Bullocks,  127 

Burril,  John,  pamphlet  addressed  to, 
42;  43,  239,  262,  263,  293,  295,  296 
Butter,  price  of,  raised,  359;  land 
owners  should  be  forced  by  taxation 
to  produce,  363 

C 

Cables,  manufacture  of,  referred  to, 
128,  130,  169,  226 
Calicoes,  may  be  made  here,  342 
Call  to  the  tempted,  etc.,  sermon  by 
Increase  Mather,  451 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  148,  329,  349,  444 
Camlets,  a  needless  importation,  353 ; 

extravagant  use  of,  359 
Canada,  23  ;  paper  money  current  in, 
29,  195  ;  expedition  against,  53,  55, 
98,  199,  200 

Canadian  card  money,  24,  25,  26 
Candles,  not  to  be  exported  at  dear 
price,  357 

Cane-chairs,  needless  importation,  353 


Index 


458 


Canvas,  imported,  353 ;  plan  for  bring¬ 
ing  down  price  of,  407 
Cape  Breton  expedition,  97 
Cape  Cod,  protection  against  seining, 
314;  canal,  349 
Carolinas,  the,  67 
Carrots,  368 

Castle,  the,  Boston,  soldiers  there 
could  be  taught  to  make  nails,  341 
Cattle,  for  public  good  to  raise  here, 
356,  368 

Centinel,  Vincent,  signature  to  a  pam¬ 
phlet,  101 

Certain  additional  notes,  etc.,  105 
Certain  considerations  concerning  the 
coinage  of  the  colony,  etc.,  104 
Change  bill,  the,  and  the  bank  bill  of 
credit,  12-14;  method  of  use,  116, 
ri7 

Channing,  Edward,  his  History  of  the 
United  States  cited,  148 
Charles  River,  bridge  suggested,  47, 
340,  349 ;  toll  bridge  suggested,  269, 
407 

Charlestown,  196;  bridge  to,  41 1 
Chebacco,  61 

Cheese,  price  of,  raised,  359;  land 
owners  should  be  forced  by  taxation 
to  produce,  363 
China,  102 

China  ware,  a  needless  importation, 
353 

Chinese  paper  money,  1,  102 
Chocolate,  less  use  recommended,  48  ; 

too  much  imported,  354 
Cloth,  weaver  of,  referred  to,  128,  169, 
226 ;  for  public  good  to  make  here, 
356 

Clothing,  less  extravagance  is  recom¬ 
mended,  48  ;  home-made  to  be  worn, 
358;  author  has  seen  costly,  410 


Coasters,  obliged  to  trust,  408 
Cobbler  of  Agawam  (Nathaniel  Ward), 
114 

Cockeril,  Thomas,  publisher  of  A 
model  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc.,  1 53 
Coffee,  less  use  recommended,  48 ; 

too  much  imported,  354 
Coke,  Sir  Edward,  his  works  quoted, 
245,  283,  304 

College  officers,  suffer  from  rise  of 
currency,  360 

Colman,  John,  publishes  Distressed 
state,  etc.,  50;  replies  to  same,  51, 
52,  53,  54;  publishes  Distressed 
state  of  the  town,  etc.,  once  more 
considered,  56 ;  proposes  Land  Bank, 
57 ;  sustains  private  bank,  65,  66, 
67,  86,  87  ;  subscribes  vindication, 
31 1 ;  sketch  of,  313 ;  mentioned,  315, 
365,  408,  412,  413,  444,  448,  449; 
arrested,  409 

Colonial  Laws  of  Massachusetts,  208, 
349 

Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts, 
104,  105,  1 50,  261 
Colony  bills,  27 

Combs,  might  be  made  here  of  horn, 
34i 

Commons,  House  of,  98 
Connecticut,  3,  20,  67,  73,  97,  118, 
312,  343;  starts  a  Land  Bank,  71, 
72 ;  mentioned,  75,  77,  84,  204,  382 
Connecticut  Land  Bank  of  the  Eigh¬ 
teenth  Century,  105 
Cooke,  Elisha,  name  connected  with 
Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148;  sketch 
of,  151 

Cooke,  Elisha,  Jr.,  son  of  Elisha,  sub¬ 
scribes  the  Vindication,  31 1  ;  sketch 
of,  313,  314 

Copper,  mines  to  be  opened,  127,  168, 


Index 


225  ;  article  of  commerce,  139;  im¬ 
ported,  353 
Coram  nobis,  447 
Cordage,  130 

Corn,  a  country  product,  167,  192,  224 
Corn-money,  204 
Cornhill,  Boston,  39 7 
Cotton,  traded  in,  129,  170,  226;  man¬ 
ufacture  of  encouraged  by  crown, 
342,  349 

Cotton-wool,  imported,  353 ;  clothes 
made  of,  368 

Council,  of  Massachusetts,  ill,  112, 
115;  order  of,  against  Colman,  409 
Council,  of  New  England,  137 
Counters,  pass  for  pennies,  418 
Country-man’s  Answer  to  a  letter  in¬ 
tituled  The  distressed  state  of  the 
town  of  Boston  considered,  409,  410, 
411,412,  448 

Crump,  Thomas,  Boston  printer,  335 
Currency  and  Banking  in  the  province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  referred 
to,  6,  12,  20,  102,  103,  104,  196 
Currency  and  provincial  politics,  The, 
105 

Currency  discussion  in  Massachu¬ 
setts,  etc.,  104 
Cutlery  ware,  imported,  353 

D 

Danforth,  Thomas,  Register  of  Mid¬ 
dlesex,  6 

Davenport,  Judge  Addington,  450 
David,  260 ;  had  an  esteem  for  money, 
378 

Day-labourers,  suffer  by  rise  in  com¬ 
modities,  385 

Dedham,  pamphlet  dated  “  Deadham  ” 
published,  52,  448,  452 


459 

Deplorable  state  of  New-England, 
309 

Dictionary  of  authors  (Allibone’s), 

443 

Dictionary  of  books  relating  to  Amer¬ 
ica  (Sabin’s),  85,  442 
Discourse  concerning  the  currencies 
of  the  British  plantations  in  Amer¬ 
ica,  etc.,  85,  90,  91 ;  Postscript,  92 
Discourse  in  explanation  of  the  bank 
of  credit,  etc.,  found  among  the 
Winthrop  Papers,  13,  103;  reprint 
of,  121-146;  note  on,  146-151 
Discourse  shewing  that  the  real  first 
cause  of  the  straits  and  difficulties, 
etc.,  62 

Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston, 
&c.  considered,  etc.,  50,  55,  397, 
416,444,  445,  448,  449;  reprint  of, 
397-408;  note  on,  408-413 
Distressed  state  of  the  town  of  Boston 
once  more  considered,  etc.,  56 
Douglass,  Dr.  William,  takes  a  hand 
in  the  controversy,  83,  85, 90,  91,  92, 
93,94;  his  Summary  referred  to,  261 
Drams,  too  much  time  spent  over,  376 
Drink,  home-made  for  weddings  and 
funerals,  362 

Dudley,  Joseph,  President  of  Council, 
at  head  of  government,  8;  associ¬ 
ated  with  Blackwell’s  scheme,  10 ; 
1 5 1,  261  ;  his  letter  quoted,  11; 
mentioned,  119;  brief  sketch  of,  148 
Dudley,  Mary  (Winthrop),  wife  of 
Rev.  Samuel,  119 

Dudley,  Paul,  Attorney  General  of 
Massachusetts,  son  of  Gov.  Joseph, 
his  estimate  of  bills  in  circulation, 
34 ;  submits  memorial  to  council, 
39 ;  publishes  Objections,  42  ;  reply 
to  it,  43,  44;  his  Objections  to  the 


Index 


460 


bank  of  credit,  239-261;  sketch 
of,  261,  262;  293,  295,  296;  me¬ 
morial  presented,  301 ;  alluded  to 
as  Mr.  Attorney,  303,  304,  305, 
307;  signs  letter,  310;  his  pam¬ 
phlet,  333 

Dudley,  Rev.  Samuel,  119 
Dummer,  William,  Lieutenant  Gover¬ 
nor  of  Massachusetts,  450 
Dye  stuffs,  traded  in,  129, 169, 170,  226 

E 

East  Indies,  358 

Economic  Studies,  a  publication  of  the 
American  Economic  Association, 
85 

Edgartown,  317 

Edinburgh,  University  of,  443 

Edwards,  John,  Boston  publisher,  363, 

396,  397 
Egypt,  378,  401 
Egyptian  task-masters,  434 
Eight-pences,  Spanish  coins,  351 
Eliot,  Rev.  John,  his  Biographical 
Dictionary,  444 

England,  1 1,  30,  38,  52,  94,  1 19,  133, 

i93>  194,  i95>  198,  244,  245,  249, 

271,  274,  283,  284,  285,  287,  298, 

304.  305,  307,  308,  314,  338,  340, 

418,  430 

England,  Bank  of,  2,  99,  244,  245,  246, 
249,  252,  283,  284,  304,  305 
Enquiry  into  the  state  of  the  bills  of 
credit  of  the  province,  etc.,  97 
Essay  concerning  silver  and  paper 
currencies,  etc.,  83 
Essex  County,  Massachusetts,  262 
Europe,  210,  345 
Eutopia,  304 
Exchange  on  London,  98 


Exchange  Tavern,  Boston,  subscrip¬ 
tions  to  private  bank  received  at,  38 
Exports,  should  exceed  imports,  48 

F 

First  essays  at  banking  in  New  Eng¬ 
land,  by  J.  Hammond  Trumbull, 
quoted,  6,  1 18,  147,  196 
Fish,  a  country  product,  127,  167,  224; 
paid  for  in  Spanish  coin,  351  ; 
exported,  358,  375  ;  proper  to  be 
exported,  420 

Fishery,  144,  169,  177;  will  fail,  287; 
called  the  New  England  silver  mine, 
336,  349 

Fitch,  Col.  Thomas,  450 
Flax,  an  article  of  trade,  128,  129,  169, 
170,  226,  341 ;  for  public  good  to 
raise  here,  356,  357,  362 ;  clothes 
made  of,  368  ;  time  well  employed 
in  raising,  376,  407 

Fleet,  Thomas,  Boston  printer,  239, 

335 

Flesh,  price  of,  raised,  359  ;  land  own¬ 
ers  should  be  forced  by  taxation  to 
produce,  363 

Flip,  labourer’s  drink,  375 
Ford,  Worthington  Chauncey,  442 
Foundries,  to  be  encouraged,  349 
Foxcroft,  Rev.  Thomas,  396,  413,  442, 
443 

France,  25,  26,  333,  430 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  author  of  A 
modest  enquiry  etc.,  69 
Franklin,  James,  brother  of  Benjamin, 
a  Boston  printer,  415 
Freeman,  Mylo,  signature  to  a  pam¬ 
phlet,  99 

Friendly  check  from  a  kind  relation 
to  a  chief  cannoneer,  etc.,  62 


Index 


461 


F rontenac,  Louis  de  Buade,  Comte  de, 
21 

Fry,  Richard,  submits  scheme  for  a 
paper  currency,  85 

Fund,  The,  in  Boston,  1,  105 ;  descrip¬ 
tion  of,  3-8 ;  were  the  bills  bank 
bills  ?  12  ;  the  story  of,  102,  103 

Fund  credit,  3,  7 
Fund  of  land,  4,  5 
Fund  pay,  7,  118 
Fundors,  7,  1 18 

Funerals,  extravagance  of,  prohibited, 
67 ;  extravagance  at,  362 
Furniture,  a  needless  importation,  353; 
author  has  seen  “  gallant  furniture,” 
410 

Furs,  a  country  product,  167,  224 

G 

Garments,  use  of  home-made  recom¬ 
mended,  362 

General  Court  and  Land  Bank  liti¬ 
gants,  104 

General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  rec¬ 
ords  of,  1 12 

General  Laws  and  Liberties  of  the 
Massachusetts  colony,  1672,  349 
George  the  First,  King,  333,  412 
Germany,  342 
Gewgaws,  428 

Glass  for  windows,  imported,  353 
Glass  works,  might  be  built  here,  341, 

349 

Gloves,  a  needless  importation,  353; 
home-made  for  weddings  and  funer¬ 
als,  362  ;  of  skins  of  beasts,  368 
Gold,  brought  by  first  settlers,  351; 

has  become  merchandize,  401 
Gorges,  Sir  Ferdinando,  276 
Grain,  paid  for  in  Spanish  coin,  351  ; 


for  public  good  to  raise  here,  356 ; 
not  to  be  exported  at  dear  price,  357 ; 
price  of  raised,  359;  land  owners 
should  be  forced  by  taxation  to 
raise,  363 ;  laid  up  in  store  in  Bos¬ 
ton,  390 

Graineries,  might  be  built  here,  342 
Grand  and  standing  committee  ap¬ 
pointed  to  consider  scheme  for  bank 
of  credit,  9;  their  report,  9,  12,  137 
Gray,  Benjamin,  Boston  publisher,  363, 
396,  397 

Great  Britain,  242,  244,  271,  291,  307, 
320,  333,  379 

Green,  Samuel,  printer,  119 
Grist-mill,  to  be  placed  in  new  town¬ 
ships,  344 

Guinea,  negroes  imported,  150 

H 

Half  pieces  of  eight,  351 
Handkerchiefs,  silk,  a  needless  impor¬ 
tation,  353 

Harris,  Benjamin,  a  Boston  printer, 
206 

Hartford,  Connecticut,  1 18,  195 
Harvard  College  or  University,  41, 
150,  ISL  309»3i2,  333,443;  receipts 
of  toll  bridge  to  be  given,  269 ; 
profits  of  bank  tendered,  329 
Harvard  Graduates.  See  Sibley,  John 
Langdon. 

Hassam,  John  Tyler,  147,  148 
Hats,  a  needless  importation,  353 ; 

home-made  recommended,  358,  362 
Hay,  price  of  raised,  359 
Hemp,  an  article  of  trade,  129,  169, 
170,  226;  bounty  for  produce  of, 
269,  341 ;  for  public  good  to  raise 
here,  356,  362 ;  clothes  made  of, 


Index 


462 


368  ;  time  well  employed  in  raising, 
376,  407  ;  may  be  received  in  Trea¬ 
sury,  395 

Henchman,  Daniel,  a  Boston  pub¬ 
lisher,  415 

Hides,  not  to  be  exported  at  dear 
price,  357 

Hill,  Gen.  John,  organizes  expedition 
against  Quebec,  34,  45,  313,  333 

Hogs,  127,  368 

Holland,  Bank  credit  current,  133, 144, 
178,  234,  342  ;  premium  on  bills,  173, 
230 

Hollands-duck,  manufacture  to  be  en¬ 
couraged,  269 

Hollis  Professor  of  Divinity,  Harvard 
College,  443 

Hoops,  exported,  355;  for  West  India 
market,  376 

Hops,  a  country  product,  127,  167, 
224 

Horn,  manufactures  of,  might  be  en¬ 
couraged,  341,  349 

Horses,  paid  for  in  Spanish  coin,  351 ; 
exported,  355 ,  358 

Hudibras,  quoted,  280 

Husbandmen,  least  hurt  by  rise  in 
commodities,  385 

Husbands,  meaning  economizers,  427, 
438 

Hutchinson,  Elisha,  name  connected 
with  Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148 ; 
Some  additional  considerations  ad¬ 
dressed  to,  28,  149,  197,  206;  re¬ 
ferred  to,  207,  208 

Hutchinson,  Thomas,  his  History  of 
Massachusetts,  20,  22,  196,  262, 
315;  probable  author  of  pamphlet, 
78,  105,  262,  315 

Hutchinson’s  Collection  of  papers, 
147 


I 

Imports,  excessive  importation  dis¬ 
couraged,  48 

Independent  Advertiser,  Boston,  99 
Indian  Corn  bread,  368 
Indians,  dogs  of  the  French,  199 
Ink-horns,  might  be  made  here  of 
horn,  341 

Inquiry  into  the  nature  and  uses  of 
money,  etc.,  90 

Ireland,  in,  194,  283,  333,  342 
Iron,  mines,  127,  225;  an  article  of 
trade,  128,  168,  169,  226;  ore  plenty 
here,  340,  362 ;  finery  at  Lynn,  340 ; 
works  would  be  of  value  to  this 
country,  341 
Israel,  260,  401 
Issachar,  260 

J 

Jacob,  sent  money  to  Egypt,  378 
Jews,  348 

John  Carter  Brown  Library,  238,  262, 
349 

Judges  of  the  circuit,  suffer  from  rise 
in  currency,  360 

K 

Kettles,  iron,  ought  to  be  cast  here, 
362 

King  Philip,  149 

King  Street,  Boston,  239,  363,  396, 
397 

King’s  Chapel,  Boston,  313,  314 
Kneeland,  Samuel,  Boston  printer, 
396 

Knowles,  Rear  Admiral  Sir  Charles, 
his  libel  suit,  261 


Index 


463 


L 

Laborers,  can  scarce  subsist,  389 ;  paid 
partly  in  goods,  419 ;  wanted  in  the 
country,  427 

Lace,  silver  and  gold,  needless  impor¬ 
tation,  353 

Lambert,  Gen.  John,  147 

Land  Bank,  proposed  in  1720,  86 

Land  Bank  and  Manufactory  Scheme, 

87,  97 

Land  Bank  of  1740,  mentioned,  50, 

88,  89,  90,  91,  93,  94,  95,  97,  313, 
408 

Lawful  money,  definition  of,  33 ;  title 
of  pamphlet,  105 

Lawyers,  oppose  more  bills,  402,  438 
Lead,  139;  mines  to  be  opened,  127, 
168,  225 

Leather,  once  the  coin  of  Rome,  271 ; 

not  to  be  exported  at  dear  price,  357 
Legal  tender  act,  95 
Leghorn,  Italy,  202 
Legislation  and  Litigation  connected 
with  the  Land  Bank  of  1740,  104 
Lenox  Library,  444 
Letter  from  a  country  gentleman  in 
Boston,  etc.,  90 

Letter  from  a  gentleman  containing 
some  remarks  upon  the  several  an¬ 
swers  given  unto  Mr.  Colman’s,  etc., 
53,  315,448 

Letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Boston  to 
his  friend  in  Connecticut,  97 
Letter  from  one  in  Boston  to  his  friend 
in  the  country,  etc.,  a  reply  to  Dud¬ 
ley’s  Objections,  etc.,  43  ;  reprint 
of,  263-292  ;  note  on,  292-293 
Letter  from  one  in  the  country  to  his 
friend  in  Boston,  etc.,  51,  448; 


reprint  of,  415-442;  note  on,  442- 
444 

Letter  relating  to  a  medium  of  trade, 
etc.,  86 

Letter  to  a  member  of  the  honourable 
house  of  representatives,  etc.,  78 
Letter  to  an  eminent  clergyman,  etc., 
61 

Letter  to - ,  merchant  in  London, 

etc.,  93 

Letter  to  the  merchant  in  London  to 
whom  is  directed  a  printed  letter, 
etc.,  93 

Lewis,  Alonzo,  and  James  Robinson 
Newhall,  their  history  of  Lynn,  262 
Library  of  Congress,  238,  262,  312, 

333,  365,  396,  413,  442,  444,  449 
Licences  to  retail  drink,  too  many,  376, 

390 

Light  houses,  to  be  erected,  269 
Linen,  weaver  of,  referred  to,  128, 
169,  226;  extravagance  in,  336; 
manufacture  encouraged  by  crown, 
342,  349;  plan  for  bringing  down 
price,  407 

Lombard  Street,  London,  282 
London,  3,  16,  17,  20,  34,  37,  57,  70, 
85,  90,  93,  94,  97,  98,  103,  no,  129, 

1 53,  170,  187,  188,  209,  210,  227, 
237,  238,  244,  252,  304,  309 
London  Coffee  House,  Boston,  206 
London  Gazette,  252 
Looking-glasses,  costly,  a  needless  im¬ 
portation,  353 

Louisburg,  Cape  Breton,  expedition, 
96,  98,  100,  102 

Lumber,  a  country  product,  127,  167, 
169,  224,  226;  paid  for  in  Spanish 
coin,  351  ;  exported,  358 
Lyde,  Edward,  subscribes  the  Vindi¬ 
cation,  3 1 1  ;  sketch  of,  313 


Index 


464 


Lynde,  Mary,  married  John  Valentine, 
450 

Lynde,  Samuel,  subscribes  the  Vindi¬ 
cation,  31 1 ;  sketch  of,  312,  313 
Lynde,  Simon,  name  connected  with 
Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148,  312; 
sketch  of,  149 

Lynn,  305  ;  iron  finery  at,  340 
Lynn,  Lewis  and  Newhall’s  History 
of,  262 

M 

M.,  F.,  signature  to  a  pamphlet,  58 
Magnalia,  Mather’s,  196 
Maine,  province  of,  305 
Manufactory  Scheme.  See  Land 
Bank;  Land  Bank  of  1740 
Manufactory  Undertaking.  See  Land 
Bank  ;  Land  Bank  of  1 740 
Market,  establishment  recommended, 
390 

Marlborough  Street,  Boston,  314,  450 
Martha’s  Vineyard,  317 
Massachuset  Bay,  55 
Massachusetts,  or  Massachusetts  Bay, 
8,  26,  29,  35,  50,  61 ,  62,  64,  67,  68,  69, 

7L  73,  74,  77,  84,  85,  86,  93,  94,  97, 
98,  100,  10 1,  102,  104,  105,  148,  150, 
151,  191,  239,  263,  295,  321,  324,  330, 
351,  382,  452;  charter  quoted,  274 
Massachusetts  Archives,  reference 
given,  9 ;  documents  described,  10; 
reference,  11,  12,  13,  20 
Massachusetts  Bay  Currency,  The,  105 
Massachusetts  Colony  Records,  cited, 
207 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Pro¬ 
ceedings  cited,  1 2  ;  Parkman  manu¬ 
scripts,  25;  Proceedings,  103,  105, 
146,  147,  148 ;  referred  to,  238,  292, 
312,  333,  365,  396,  413,  444 


Massachusetts  in  agony,  etc.,  100 
Massachusetts  mint,  18,  33 
Mather,  Rev.  Cotton,  son  of  Rev. 
Increase,  pamphlet  attributed  to, 
196,  his  Magnalia,  196;  his  Diary 
quoted,  45 1 

Mather,  Rev.  Increase,  a  sermon 
printed,  451 
Meeting-houses,  344 
Melancholy  state  of  the  province  con¬ 
sidered,  etc.,  77 

Memorial  History  of  Boston,  149,  151, 
196,  317 

Merchants,  least  hurt  by  rise  in  com¬ 
modities,  385 

Merchants’  notes,  74,  75,  77,  78,  103 
Meules,  Jacques  De,  intendant  at 
Quebec,  invents  card  money,  25, 
26,  102 

Middle  tenor.  See  Bills  of  public 
credit 

Middlesex  County,  Mass.,  196 
Middlesex  Registry,  6 
Minerals,  127,  168,  225 
Mines,  127,  168,  225 
Ministers,  suffer  from  rise  in  currency, 
360 

Model  for  erecting  a  Bank  of  credit, 
etc.,  published  at  London,  1688,  16; 
Supplement  described,  17;  reprint 
of,  153-187;  note  on,  187-188 
Model  for  erecting  a  Bank  of  credit, 
etc.,  reprint,  Boston,  1714,  men¬ 
tioned,  17,  37,  103  ;  reprint  of,  209- 
237  ;  note  on,  237-238 
Modest  enquiry  into  the  nature  and 
necessity  of  a  paper  currency,  69 
Molasses,  imported,  353 
Money  the  sinews  of  war,  etc.,  69 
Mons  Pie  tat  is,  125,  157,  214 
Montreal,  Canada,  21 


Index 


465 


Muslins,  imported,  358 
Mutton,  368 

Myles,  Rev.  Samuel,  refused  to  bury 
J.  Valentine,  450 

N 

Naboth’s  Vineyard,  404 

Nails,  manufacture  of  suggested,  341 ; 

mills  to  be  encouraged,  349,  362 
Navarre,  26 

Neal,  Daniel,  his  History  of  New 
England  cited,  148,  15 1 
Needles,  imported,  353 
Negroes,  many  laws  about,  346 
New  England,  3,  18,  28,  29,  30,  33,  34, 
35?  36,  37)  40,  41,  45)  50)  63,  67,  83, 
85,  93)99)  10O)  109,  no,  118,  122, 
147, 148,  149,  151,  184, 185, 186, 1 87, 
189,  193,  195,  198,  201,  204,  205, 
206,  209,  239, 255,  263, 284,  293, 295, 
305,  309)3H)  3^9)  320,324, 330,  382, 
412 

New  England  coinage,  32,  186,  351 
New  England  Courant,  Boston,  451 
New  England  Historical  and  Genea¬ 
logical  Register,  105 
New  England  silver  mine,  the  fisheries 
so  called,  336,  349 
New  Hampshire,  77,  382,  452 
New  Hampshire  notes,  1735,  etc.,  77> 
94)  105 

New  London  Company  for  Trade,  71 
New  London  Society  united  for  Trade 
and  Commerce,  72,  73 
New  news  from  Robinson  Cruso's 
island,  etc.,  59 

New  tenor.  See  Bills  of  public  credit 
New  York,  their  shilling,  33 
New  York  Public  Library,  333 
Newbury,  118 


Newcastle,  Thomas  Pelham-Holles, 
Duke  of,  98 
Newfoundland,  53 

Newhall,  James  Robinson.  See  Lewis, 
Alonzo 

News  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  island,  a 
satirical  pamphlet,  59 
News  Letter,  The.  See  Boston  News 
Letter 

Northern  plantations,  these,  375 
Noyes,  Oliver,  subscribes  the  Vindi¬ 
cation,  31 1 ;  sketch  of,  315 

O 

Oakes  and  pines,  396 
Objections  to  the  bank  of  credit,  a 
pamphlet,  41,  42,  293  ;  reprint  of, 
239-261 ;  note  on,  261-262 
Observations  occasioned  by  reading  a 
pamphlet  entitled  a  discourse,  etc., 
94 

Occult  Methods  of  protecting  the  cur¬ 
rency,  etc.,  105 

Officers  of  courts,  oppose  more  bills, 
402,  438 

Oil,  traded  in,  129,  170,  226  ;  exported, 
3 58,  375  ;  price  said  to  be  falling, 
419  ;  proper  to  be  exported,  420 
Old  charter  bills,  27 
Old  tenor.  See  Bills  of  public  credit 
Oliver,  Nathaniel,  subscribes  the 
Vindication,  31 1 ;  sketch  of,  316,  317 
Orphans,  suffer  from  rise  in  currency, 
360 

Oulton,  John,  subscribes  the  Vindica¬ 
tion,  31 1  ;  sketch  of,  314 

P 

Paine,  William.  See  Payne,  William 
Paine,  William,  joiner,  316 


30 


Index 


466 


Palfrey,  John  Gorham,  147,  148;  his 
History  of  New  England,  147,  149 
Pamphlets,  chronological  list  of,  viii- 
xii ;  alphabetical  list  of,  xiii-xv 
Pandora’s  box,  241,  280,  296,  31 1 
Paper,  might  be  made  here,  341,  349; 
imported,  353 

Paper  money,  381,  382,  386 
Papists,  348 
Parchment  tokens,  81 
Paris,  France,  25,  202 
Parkman,  Francis,  his  Old  Regime,  25 
Parsnips,  368 
Pass-bill  forms,  117 
Pattens,  fine  and  costly,  a  needless 
importation,  353 

Payne,  William  (H.  C.  1689),  sub¬ 
scribes  the  Vindication,  31 1 ;  sketch 
of,  315,  316 
Peaches,  368 
Pears,  368 

Penn,  William,  his  proprietary  colony, 
207 

Pennsylvania,  148,  270 

Periwigs,  a  needless  importation,  353 

Peru,  286 

Pewter,  imported,  353;  people  driven 
to  sell,  403 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  68,  207 
Philips,  John,  207;  Some  considera¬ 
tions,  etc.,  addressed  to,  28,  189; 
sketch  of,  196 

Philopatria,  a  nom  de  filume,  62 
Phips,  Sir  William,  his  expedition 
against  Quebec,  21,  22,  23,  26,  148, 
196 

Pieces  of  eight,  351 
Pins,  imported,  353 
Pitch,  a  country  product,  127,  167, 
224 

Plate  received  from  West  Indies,  193 


Plymouth  Colony,  150 
Poll-money,  343 

Pork,  a  country  product,  167,  224,  368  ; 

paid  for  in  Spanish  coin,  351 
Port  Royal,  Nova  Scotia,  gentleman’s 
bills  circulate  there,  28,  191 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  59,  77 
Postscript,  The,  a  pamphlet  published 
in  1720,  52,  53  ;  reprint  of,  445-448  ; 
note  on,  448-452 

Postscript,  to  A  Discourse  concerning 
the  currencies,  etc.,  92 
Potato-money,  204 
Potosi,  Bolivia,  286 
Pots,  iron,  ought  to  be  cast  here,  362 
Potter,  William,  author  of  Key  of 
Wealth,  3,  4,  no 

Poultrey,  The,  London  place  of  sale  of 
A  model  for  erecting  a  bank,  etc., 
153 

Present  melancholy  circumstances  of 
the  province  consider’d,  etc.,  48, 
348;  reprint  of,  351-363;  note  on, 

363-365 

President  and  Council  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  137 

Previous  legislation  a  corrective,  etc., 
105 

Prince  Society,  publications  of,  146, 
147 

Prince,  Rev.  Thomas,  118 
Private  bank.  See  Bank  of  credit 
Proclamation  money,  definition  of,  33 
Project  for  the  emission  of  an  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  etc.,  60 
Projection  for  erecting  a  bank  of  credit, 
etc.,  40,  41,  45,  293,  312  ;  reprint  of, 
3 1 9-333;  note  on,  333-334 ;  form  of 
bill,  328 

Proposal  to  supply  the  trade  with  a 
medium  of  exchange,  etc.,  79 


Index 


Prospectus  of  Blackwell’s  bank,  103, 
146 

Providence,  Rhode  Island,  349 
Province  Bank,  proposed,  58 
Province  bills,  381,  382 
Provincial  Banks,  Land  and  Silver, 
104 

Pudding-Lane,  Boston,  239 


Q 


Quarries,  to  be  opened,  127,  168,  225 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  104, 
105 

Quebec,  Canada,  21,  22,  25,  26,  27,  28, 

30,  34,  45,  97,  199,  201,  313,  333 
Quelch,  John,  a  pirate,  450 
Quincy,  Josiah,  his  History  of  Har¬ 
vard  University,  443 
Quo  warranto  against  Province  re¬ 
ferred  to,  207,  278 


R 

Rabshica,  53 

Randolph,  Edward,  147,  207 
Read,  John,  submits  plan  for  a  bank, 
84 

Reflections  on  the  present  state  of  the 
province  of  Massachuset  Bay,  etc., 
55 

Reflections  upon  reflections  or  more 
news  from  Robinson  Cruso’s  island, 
etc.,  59 

Retailers,  too  many,  355,  356 
Rhode  Island,  64,  69,  77,  84,  97,  312, 
413,  452;  banks,  73,  74,  75 
Ribbons,  a  needless  importation,  353 
Riding  hoods,  made  of  camlets,  359 
Rigging,  manufacture  of,  referred  to, 
128,  169,  226;  imported,  353 


467 

Rings,  forbidden  to  be  given  away  at 
funerals,  67 

Rome,  Italy,  271 

Rope  making,  referred  to,  128, 169,  226 

Rosin,  a  country  product,  127,  167, 
224 

Royal  Society,  London,  3,  21,  261 

Rum,  less  use  recommended,  48 ;  not 
to  be  given  away  at  funerals,  67 ;  ex¬ 
cessive  consumption  of,  255,  336; 
too  much  imported,  354,  355;  too 
much  spent  for,  375,  376 

Russell,  James,  name  connected  with 
Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148  ;  sketch  of, 
149 

Rusticus,  a  nom  de  plume ,  445,  448, 
449 

Rye  bread,  368 


S 

Sabin,  Joseph,  85,  442 
Saffln,  John,  name  connected  with 
Blackwell’s  bank,  10,  148,  149; 
sketch  of,  150 

Sails,  manufacture  referred  to,  128, 
130,  169,  226 

St.  Lawrence  river,  21,  22 
Salary  men,  pinched  by  conditions, 
360 ;  suffer  by  rise  in  commodities, 
385  ;  oppose  more  bills,  402 
Sandwich,  canal  suggested,  47,  340 
Satin,  a  needless  importation,  353 
Saw  mill,  to  be  placed  in  new  town¬ 
ship,  344 

Scarves,  forbidden  to  be  given  away 
at  funerals,  67;  recommended  for 
persons  of  rank  only,  362 
Scheme  for  a  paper  currency,  85 
School-masters,  suffer  from  rise  of 
currency,  360 


Index 


468 


Scituate,  Massachusetts,  150 
Scythes,  imported,  353 
Search  for  a  pamphlet  by  Governor 
Hutchinson,  105 

Second  letter  to - ,  merchant 

in  London,  etc.,  93 

Second  part  of  South  Sea  Stock,  etc., 

63 

Selling  of  Joseph,  150 
Serge,  weavers  of,  referred  to,  128, 
169,  226 

Servants,  indentured,  might  have  wild 
land  set  off,  47  ;  reward  for  import¬ 
ing  male  white,  270 ;  now  of  bad  re¬ 
pute,  343  ;  townships  to  be  provided 
for,  344 

Severals  relating  to  the  fund,  etc.,'  a 
pamphlet, described,  3-8;  13;  reprint 
of,  109-118;  note  on,  118-119 
Sewall,  Samuel,  150;  his  diary  quoted, 
316,  450,  451,  452;  prints  a  Mather 
sermon,  451 

Sheep,  more  to  be  raised  here,  357; 

labor  in  raising,  368 
Sheetings,  may  be  made  here,  342 
Shilling,  New  England,  32 ;  New  York, 

33 

Ships,  169,  226;  building  of,  keeps 
Boston  alive,  403 

Shirley,  William,  Governor  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  94,  95,  96 
Shirtings,  may  be  made  here,  342 
Shoes,  fine  and  costly,  a  needless  im¬ 
portation,  353 ;  home-made  shoes 
recommended,  358,  362;  of  skins  of 
beasts,  368 ;  cost  of,  in  South 
Carolina,  385 

Shop  notes,  payment  of  wages  half 
in  goods,  great  injury,  49;  cause  of 
extravagance,  53 ;  again  stated,  66, 
403,  4i9 


Shute,  Samuel,  Governor  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  314,  404,  408,  450 
Sibley,  John  Langdon,  his  Harvard 
Graduates,  119,  148,  149,  151, 
316 

Sickles,  imported,  353 

Sign  of  the  Bible,  Cornhill,  Boston, 

397 

Silks,  extravagance  in,  336;  rich  silks 
a  needless  importation,  353,  358; 
clothes  made  of,  368 
Silver,  English  mint  price,  32 ;  value 
in  Massachusetts  coinage,  33  ;  price 
in  1710,  96;  price  in  1714,  35; 
price  in  1720,  52;  price  in  1727,  96; 
tables  of  prices  referred  to,  97;  price 
in  1 748,  98 ;  brought  in  by  wrecks 
and  privateers,  and  through  fisheries, 
336 ;  becomes  merchandize,  401 
Silver  Bank,  1740,  86,  89,  91,  97 
Silver  money  brought  by  first  settlers, 
351  ;  exported,  352 
Skins,  a  country  product,  167,  224 
Slaves,  day  might  be  set  when  there 
should  be  none,  47 ;  preferred  to 
servants,  343  ;  weaken  the  country, 
343 >  349  5  number  in  Boston,  343; 
law  recommended  that  twenty  years 
hence  there  be  none,  346 
Slitting  mills,  suggested,  341 
Solomon,  1 12,  378 

Some  additional  considerations,  etc., 
28,  29,  149,  187,  196;  reprint  of, 
197-206;  note  on,  206-208 
Some  considerations  on  the  bills  of 
credit,  etc.,  28;  reprint  of,  189-195; 
note  on,  195-196 

Some  considerations  upon  the  several 
sorts  of  banks,  etc.,  45 ;  reprint  of, 
335-443  ;  note  on,  348-349 
Some  observations  on  the  scheme 


Index 


469 


projected  for  emitting  £ 60,000 ,  etc., 
83 

Some  proposals  to  benefit  the  province, 
etc.,  58 

South  Carolina,  silver  30  s,  385 
Spanish  dollar,  60 
Spanish  Inquisition,  291 
Spanish  silver  money,  disappearance 
of,  48 ;  passed  here  before  silver 
was  exported,  351 

Spanish  West  Indies,  expedition 
against,  95 

Specie  payments,  attempts  at  resump¬ 
tion  of,  82 

Sprague,  Rev.  William  Buell,  his  An¬ 
nals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  444 
Stanton,  England,  119 
Starkie,  John,  to  the  Fund,  etc.,  nota¬ 
tion  in  registry,  6 

Statute  of  Limitations,  shortened,  51 
Staves,  exported,  355 ;  to  West  India 
market,  376 

Stockings,  silk,  a  needless  importation, 
353  ;  home-made  recommended,  358, 
362 

Stocks-market,  London,  1688,  153 
Stoughton,  William,  member  of  coun¬ 
cil,  associated  with  Blackwell’s 
scheme,  10,  148,  316 
Suffolk  County,  Massachusetts,  316, 
324,  445 ;  vast  number  of  lawsuits 
pending  in,  50 
Suffolk  Probate  files,  452 
Suffolk  Registry,  6 
Sugar,  imported,  353;  price,  359,  360 
Sugar-money,  204 

Summary,  Historical  and  political,  etc., 
by  Dr.  Douglass,  referred  to,  261 
Sun  Tavern,  Boston,  subscriptions  to 
private  bank  received  at,  39 
Sword  Blade  Company,  London,  304 


T 

Tar,  a  country  product,  127,  167,  224 
Taverns,  too  many,  355,  376 ;  scandal¬ 
ous  expense  at,  410 
Tea,  less  use  recommended,  48 ;  too 
much  imported,  354 
Thornton,  Timothy,  subscribes  the 
Vindication,  31 1 ;  sketch  of,  3 14-3 15 
Three-fold  tenor.  See  Bills  of  public 
credit 

Three  Leggs,  The,  London  place  of 
sale  for  A  model  for  erecting  a 
bank,  etc.,  153 
Timber,  dealt  in,  169,  226 
Tin,  139;  mines  to  be  opened,  127, 
168,  225 

Tin-ware,  imported,  353 
Tobacco-money,  204 
Tokens.  See  Parchment  tokens 
Toppan,  Robert  Noxon,  his  Edward 
Randolph  cited,  147 
Town  meeting,  Boston,  to  vote  on 
public  or  private  bank,  412 
Towns,  more  than  two  hundred  in  the 
four  governments,  401 
Tracts  relating  to  the  currency  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  1682-1720,  re¬ 
ferred  to,  19,  1 1 8,  195,  196,  238,  262, 
292,  312,  333,  349,  365,  413,  444 
Trade  and  commerce  inculcated,  etc., 
69 

Tradesmen,  suffer  by  rise  in  commodi¬ 
ties,  385;  can  scarce  subsist,  389; 
paid  part  goods,  419 
Truck  trade,  57 

Trumbull,  James  Hammond,  118,  119, 
148;  identifies  author  of  Severals 
relating  to  the  Fund,  3  ;  his  First 
essays  at  banking  in  New  England 


470 


Index 


quoted,  6,  7 ;  identifies  author  of  A 
word  of  comfort,  etc.,  61 ;  attributes 
Some  considerations,  etc.,  to  C. 
Mather,  196 
Turks,  348,  400 
Turnips,  368 

U 

Usher,  Hezekiah,  a  trustee  of  the 
Fund,  6 

Usurers,  men  forced  to  become,  347  ; 
whole  land  turned,  400 ;  oppose 
more  bills,  402,  438 
Usury,  poor  neighbors  eaten  up  by, 
348 ;  quotation  from  Law  Book,  348, 
349 

V 

Valentine,  John,  Attorney  General  of 
Massachusetts,  author  of  The  Post¬ 
script,  449 ;  Attorney  General,  450 ; 
funeral  of,  450 ;  eulogy  of,  451,  452 
Valentines  in  America,  451 
Vance,  Hugh,  author  of  Some  obser¬ 
vations  on  the  scheme  projected  for 
emitting  £  60,000,  etc.,  83,  90 
Vans.  See  Vance 
Velvet,  a  needless  importation,  353 
Venice,  Italy,  Bank  credit  circulates, 
144, 178,  234 ;  premium  on  bills,  174, 
175,  202,  230,  231 
Venice,  Bank  of,  2,  207 
Vernon,  Admiral  Edward,  95 
Vill  to  vill,  445 

Vindication  of  the  bank  of  credit,  etc., 
44>  413;  reprint  of,  295-31 1;  note 
on,  312-317 

Vindication  of  the  remarks  of  one  in 
the  country,  etc.,  54 
Virginia,  150 


W 

Walker,  Admiral  Sir  Hovenden,  or¬ 
ganizes  expedition  against  Quebec, 
34,  45,  3i3,  333 

Ward,  Rev.  Nathaniel.  See  Cobbler  . 
of  Agawam 

Was  it  Andros  ?  a  publication,  20, 103, 
105,  187 

Washburn,  Emory,  his  Sketches  of 
Judicial  History  of  Massachusetts, 
45i 

Watkinson  Library,  118,  195 
Weddings,  extravagance  at,  362 
Wendell,  Jacob,  73 

West  India  goods,  double  in  price 
what  they  were,  359 
West  Indies,  193.  See  also  Spanish 
West  Indies 

Western  English  plantation,  gentle¬ 
man’s  bills  pass  current  there,  29, 
191 

Whalebone,  exported,  358,  375 
Wheat,  bread  made  from,  368;  ten 
shillings  a  bushel,  385 
Whitmore,  William  Henry,  208 
Widows,  suffer  from  rise  in  currency, 
360 

Wigglesworth,  Rev.  Edward,  reputed 
author  of  pamphlet,  52,  60  ;  author 
of  The  countryman’s  answer,  409, 
442,  443-  444,  449 

Willard,  Josiah,  Secretary  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  409 

William  and  Mary,  of  England,  244, 
288 

Wiltshire,  England,  119 
Window  glass,  could  be  made  here, 
34i 

Wine,  less  use  recommended,  48 ; 


Index 


forbidden  to  be  given  away  at 
funerals,  67 ;  excessive  consumption 
of,  255,  336;  too  much  imported, 

354,  355 

Winthrop,  Adam,  a  trustee  of  the 
Fund,  6;  connected  with  Blackwell’s 
bank,  10,  148;  sketch  of,  150 
Winthrop,  John,  Governor  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  1 19 

Winthrop,  John,  Jr.,  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  3,  20,  21 
Winthrop,  Mary,  married  Rev. 

Samuel  Dudley,  119 
Winthrop,  Wait,  member  of  council, 
associated  with  Blackwell’s  bank, 
10,  148 ;  sketch  of,  149 
Winthrop  Papers,  13,  20,  146 
Wise,  Rev.  John,  author  of  A  word  of 
comfort,  etc.,  61 
Wood,  price  of  raised,  359 
Woodbridge,  Rev.  John,  of  Newbury, 


47i 

author  of  Severals  relating  to  the 
Fund,  3,  4,  5,  7,  12,  11 8,  1 19 
Woodbridge,  Lucy,  married  Simon 
Bradstreet,  119 

Woods,  Henry  Ernest,  Commissioner 
of  Public  Records,  151 
Wool,  an  article  of  trade,  129,  169,  170, 
226,  368 ;  not  to  be  exported  at  dear 
price,  357;  land  owners  should  be 
forced  to  raise,  363 

Woolens,  extravagance  in,  336 ;  manu¬ 
facture  discouraged  by  crown,  342 
Word  in  season  to  all  true  lovers  of 
their  liberty,  etc.,  99 
Word  of  comfort  to  a  melancholy 
country,  etc.,  61,  62 
Worsted,  an  article  of  trade,  169,  226 

Y 

Yarn,  an  article  of  trade,  169,  170,  226 


' 


- 


.  . 


* 


w 


. 


FEB  1941 


3 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


1 

1 

9031 

01767046  4 

